President Donald Trump Vice President J.D. Vance was visibly angry during the National Prayer Service at the Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday when the sermon took a political turn.
Among the religious leaders who spoke was Marian Rev. Edgar Budde, who has been an outspoken critic of Trump and the US government following the death of George Floyd.
On Trump's first full day back in office, Budd, of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, gave a sermon focused on “unity,” but her remarks became clear when she raised immigrants and LGBT youth.
The pastor spoke directly to the president, saying: “Allow me to make a final plea, Mr. President. Millions have placed their trust in you, and as I told the nation yesterday, I have felt the loving hand of God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy on the people in our country who are afraid, out there.” Gay, lesbian, and Transgender children “In Democratic, Republican and independent families, some fear for their lives.”
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President Donald Trump attends the National Prayer Mass at the Washington National Cathedral, Tuesday, January 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“And the people — the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who work on poultry farms and meet in packing plants, who wash dishes in their restaurants and work night shifts in hospitals, may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority,” Budd said. “They are not criminals, they pay taxes and they are good neighbors.” “They are loyal members of our churches, our mosques, our synagogues… our synagogues.”
The pastor asked Trump to “have mercy on those in our communities whose children fear their parents being taken away, and to help those fleeing zones of war and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome, our God teaches us.” That we should be merciful to the stranger.”
The Vice President and Second Lady leaned in and whispered to each other during the speech.
At the beginning of her remarks, Budi began “praying for unity as a people and a nation, not for agreement, political or otherwise, but for the kind of unity that strengthens society across diversity and division, unity that serves the common good.”
“Unity, in this sense, is a basic condition for people to live in freedom and together in a free society,” she said.
“Instead, unity is a way of being with one another that includes and respects differences that teaches us to hold multiple perspectives and life experiences as valid and worthy of respect, and enables us in our communities to genuinely care about others,” Budi continued. Each other, even when we disagree.”
The Rev. Marian Budd leads the National Prayer Service attended by President Donald Trump at the Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday, January 21, 2025 in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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“We, gathered here, are not naive about the realities of politics when power and wealth and competing interests are at stake, when views of what America should be are in conflict. When there are strong opinions around the world,” she continued. “There are a range of very different possibilities and understandings about the right course of action. There will be winners and losers when you witness those decisions that determine the course of public policy and prioritization of resources.”
“Not everyone's prayers will be answered the way we would like. But for some, the loss of their hopes and dreams will be more than just political,” she said, adding that “all of the faiths represented here affirm the natural right of all people.” As children of our one God, in public discourse, respecting each other's dignity means rejecting ridicule, imitation, belittlement, and demonization of those with whom we disagree, choosing instead to honor, honor, and honor differences, seeking whenever possible commonalities. “My land.”
In his inauguration speech, Trump emphasized that there is “Two types: male and female” To thunderous applause.
“I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life,” he said. “We will build a color-blind, meritocratic society.”
President Donald Trump, left, and First Lady Melania Trump attend the National Prayer Service at Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday, January 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The president has promised mass deportations of criminal illegal immigrants and sparked further controversy by signing an executive order Eliminate birthright citizenship For children of illegal immigrants.
This is not the first time Budd has made her left-leaning political views known. A Video clip from 2020 Budde is shown speaking to an ABC News reporter during the protest in Washington, D.C
“It's a message to call for justice – for swift justice for George Floyd,” Bodi, who was wearing a face mask, said at the time. “For systemic justice for all brown and black people who have been at the knees of this country in ways we have seen time and time again.” She went on to say: “This is wrong, and this uprising – this spontaneous uprising of people mostly half my age or younger, are the people we should be listening to.”
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In response to a question about Trump, Budi said: “I have stopped talking to President Trump. We need to replace President Trump.”
So I want to He testified before Congress Regarding the June 1, 2020 confrontation between protesters and law enforcement near St. John's Church in Lafayette Square.
“Our government has resorted to violence against peaceful demonstrators,” she said Episcopal Church He believes that issues of “racial and social justice are fundamental tenants of the Christian faith.”
Buddy also condemned Trump for carrying a Bible outside the church in the wake of the unrest. Testifying virtually at the time, she told a House committee: “When the president held up the Bible outside our church as if he wanted to wear a mantle of spiritual authority over what had just happened, I knew I had to speak up. The Bible is nowhere to be found.” Condoning the use of violence against innocent people.
Trump Revisit that same church Monday morning before he was sworn in as the 47th president.
Fox News' Sarah Topianski contributed to this report
