Trump seems unhappy as reverend calls for ‘mercy’ for immigrants and trans youth

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance appeared visibly irritated during the national prayer service at Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday when the sermon took a political turn.

Among the religious leaders who spoke was the Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, who had been an outspoken critic of Trump and the US government following the death of George Floyd.

On Trump’s first full day in office, Budde, of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, delivered a sermon focused on “unity,” but his comments became more direct when he mentioned immigrants and LGBTQ youth.

The reverend spoke directly to the president and said: “Let me make one last plea to you, Mr. President, millions have put their trust in you and, as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the Name of our God, I ask you to have mercy on the people of our country who are afraid. There are gays, lesbians and. transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some of whom fear for their lives.

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“And the people, the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who work on poultry farms and congregate in packing plants, who wash dishes in their restaurants and work night shifts in hospitals, 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,” Budde said. “They are faithful members of our churches, mosques, synagogues… and temples.”

The reverend called on Trump to have “mercy on those in our communities whose children fear their parents will be taken from them, and to help those fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands find compassion and welcome, our teachings teach us.” God”. that we should be merciful to the stranger.”

The vice president and second lady leaned in and whispered to each other during the sermon.

At the beginning of his remarks, Budde began to “pray for unity as a people and a nation, not for an agreement, political or otherwise, but for the kind of unity that fosters community through diversity and division, a unity that serves the common good”.

“Unity, in this sense, is a prerequisite for people to live freely and together in a free society,” he said.

“Rather,” Budde continued, “unity is a way of being with one another, and it embraces and respects differences, which teaches us to consider multiple perspectives and life experiences as valid and worthy of respect, allowing us in our communities to genuinely care for each other, even when we disagree.”

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He went on to say: “Those of us gathered here are not naïve about the realities of politics when power, wealth and competing interests are at stake, when opinions about what America should be are in conflict. When there is strong opinions everywhere “Across a spectrum of markedly different possibilities and understandings of what the right course of action is, there will be winners and losers when decisions are made that set the course of public policy and the prioritization of resources.”

“Not everyone’s prayers will be answered as we would like. But for some, the loss of their hopes and dreams will be much more than political,” he said, adding that “all religions represented here affirm the birthright of all people.” “. As children of our one God, in public discourse, honoring the dignity of others means refusing to mock and model, dismiss, demonize those with whom we differ, choosing instead to respect, respectfully, acknowledge our differences and, whenever possible , look for the common. floor.”

In his inaugural address, Trump stated that there are “two genders, male and female”, to thunderous applause.

“I will also end the government’s policy of attempting to socially mainstream race and gender into all aspects of public and private life,” he said. “We will forge a color-blind, merit-based society.”

The president promised mass deportations of criminal illegal immigrants and sparked even more controversy by signing an executive order. eliminate birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants.

This is not the first time Budde has made his left-wing political views known. TO video clip of 2020 shows Budde speaking to an ABC News reporter while protesting in Washington, D.C.

“It’s a message for a call for justice, for justice to be done quickly for George Floyd,” Budde, who was wearing a mask, said at the time. “For systemic justice for all brown and black people who have been under the knees of this country in ways we have witnessed time and time again.” He went on to say, “This is wrong, and this uprising, this spontaneous uprising of people mostly half my age or younger, are who we should listen to.”

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When asked about Trump, Budde said, “I’ve stopped talking to President Trump. We need to replace President Trump.”

then budde testified before Congress regarding a June 1, 2020 confrontation between protesters and law enforcement officers near St. John’s Church in Lafayette Square.

He said that “our government resorted to acts of violence against peaceful protesters” and said that episcopal church believes that issues of “racial and social justice are fundamental tenets of the Christian faith.”

Budde also condemned Trump for holding a Bible outside the church after the riot. Testifying virtually at the time, he told a House committee: “When the president held up a Bible outside our church as if to claim the mantle of spiritual authority over what had just happened, I knew I had to speak. In no way part of the Bible condones the use of violence against the innocent.”

Triumph visited that same church again Monday morning before being sworn in as the 47th president.

Fox News’ Sarah Tobianski contributed to this report