Millions of people from the United States and around the globe tuned in to witness the inauguration of President Donald Trump. However, one moment that stood out to many was the bishop’s sermon, which touched on topics that left the audience surprised, especially in the context of such a formal event.
During her 15-minute message, Bishop Mariann Budde took the opportunity to address President Trump directly with a series of heartfelt appeals.
“Let me make one final plea, Mr. President,” the bishop stated toward the conclusion of her sermon. “Millions have put their trust in you. And as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God.”
She implored Trump to show compassion toward those who are anxious about what lies ahead. As she said this, she seemed to cast a brief glance in the president’s direction.
“There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families, some who fear for their lives,” she added, pointing to the LGBTQIA+ community’s concerns about the direction of Trump’s administration.
In her sermon, she talked about some of the executive orders signed by Trump. These included one that acknowledged the biological differences between women and men. Another order declared a national emergency at the southern border, along with several others focusing on immigration, including one that aimed to end birthright citizenship.
“The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings; who labor in poultry farms and meat packing plants; who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals, they – they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation. But the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors.”
Bishop Budde has been outspoken against Trump in the past.
In 2020, when Trump posed with a Bible outside St. John’s Episcopal Church after law enforcement cleared out racial justice protesters using chemical agents, the bishop responded by saying: “Everything he has said and done is to inflame violence… We need moral leadership, and he’s done everything to divide us.”
Additionally, during a sermon, the bishop emphasized: “I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away. And that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger,” she continued. “For we were all once strangers in this land.”
When asked about the bishop’s sermon, President Trump shared that he “didn’t think it was a good service.”
Republican U.S. Representative Mike Collins from Georgia took to social media to express his thoughts on the sermon. He stated, “The person giving this sermon should be added to the deportation list.”
