President Donald Trump panned the Inauguration Prayer Service at the Washington National Cathedral Tuesday morning, after a woke prelate went on an unhinged, left-wing diatribe.
Mariann Edgar Budde, the Episcopalian Bishop of Washington D.C., took the opportunity of the traditional interfaith prayer service to lecture President Trump on his America First policies, while the president, vice president, and their wives and families looked on in stony-faced silence.
Addressing the president directly, Budde, 65, asserted that Trump’s agenda has left LGBTQ+ “children,” and illegal immigrants in “fear for their lives.”
“Let me make one final plea, 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 upon the people in our country who are scared now,” Budde said. “There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families — some who fear for their lives. The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meatpacking plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the 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. They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues, gurdwara, and temples.”
When Budde mentioned “gay, lesbian, and transgender children,” Vice President J.D. Vance, a devout Catholic, turned to his wife with a deadpan expression.
The bishop continued:
I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear 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, for we were all once strangers in this land. May God grant us the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being, to speak the truth to one another in love, and walk humbly with each other and our God, for the good of all people — the good of all people in this nation and the world. Amen.
The Washington National Cathedral has hosted ten official inaugural prayer services for presidents of both parties. Due to safety concerns, the 11 a.m. service was closed to the public.
The focus of the service, according to the Associated Press, was supposed to be on national unity instead of the new administration, according to a plan made well before Election Day.
“We are in a unique moment in our country’s history, and it is time to approach this differently,” said the Very Rev. Randy Hollerith, dean of the Episcopal cathedral, in an October statement.
“This will be a service for all Americans, for the well-being of our nation, for our democracy.”
However, in the 2024 election, the majority of Americans rejected the woke ideology espoused by Bishop Budde.
Speaking to press after the service, Trump said he “didn’t think it was a good service.”
“Not too exciting, was it? I didn’t think it was a good service, no. Thank you very much,” he said.
“They could do much better,” Trump added before walking away.