Episcopal bishop Marianne Budde is reacting with kindness following President Donald Trump’s criticism of her sermon at the traditional inaugural prayer service Tuesday.
Budde appeared on The View on Wednesday, where she was asked to respond to Trump’s scathing post on his Truth Social platform in which he called her a “Radical Left hard line Trump hater.”
“She brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way,” he wrote. “She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart. She failed to mention the large number of illegal migrants that came into our Country and killed people. Many were deposited from jails and mental institutions. It is a giant crime wave that is taking place in the USA. Apart from her inappropriate statements, the service was a very boring and uninspiring one. She is not very good at her job! She and her church owe the public an apology!”
Budde, meanwhile, used the same tone she had in her sermon earlier this week, telling The View‘s Sarah Haines that she does in fact believe that the message of unity and mercy she was trying to preach is being misconstrued and politicized.
“I think if you read what I said — I mean, how could it not be politicized, right? We’re in a hyper political climate. One of the things I caution about is the culture of contempt in which we live, that immediately rushes to the worst possible interpretations of what people are saying and to put them in categories such as the ones you just described. That’s part of the air we breathe now.”
She continued, “I was trying to speak a truth that I felt needed to be said, but to do it in as respectful and kind of way as I could. And also to bring other voices into the conversation, voices which have not been heard in the public space for some time.”
In her sermon, Budde addressed Trump directly, telling him, “In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives.”
“They may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals,” she continued.
Trump’s expression throughout the sermon was flat, as were the reactions from the vice president and the pair’s respective spouses and members of the Trump extended family.
Republicans in Congress have also reacted angrily to the service, with Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia posting on social media “the person giving this sermon should be added to the deportation list,” although Budde was born in New Jersey.
Elsewhere during her interview on The View, Budde was asked by co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin whether or not she thought the message delivered in her sermon would’ve been better said to Trump in private. And while she seemed open to having a one-on-one conversation with the president, Budde said she has not been invited to do so.
“I’ve never been invited into a one-on-one conversation with President Trump and I would welcome that opportunity, I have no idea how that would go,” Budde responded. “I can assure him and everyone listening that I would be as respectful as I would with any person, certainly of his office, for which I have a great deal of respect, but the invitation would have to come from him.”
As for why Budde took the opportunity to share her message of unity with Trump and those in attendance at the church service and everyone who listened in to her sermon, she said it was her “responsibility” to “reflect, to pray with the nation for unity.”
“As I was pondering what are the foundations of unity, I wanted to emphasize respecting the honor and dignity of every human being, basic honesty and humility,” Budde stressed. “And then I also realized that unity requires a certain degree of mercy — mercy and compassion and understanding.”
She continued, “And so knowing that a lot of people, as I’ve said, in our country right now are really scared, I wanted to take the opportunity in the context of service for unity to say, ‘We need to treat everyone with dignity and we need to be merciful.’ I was trying to counter the narrative that is so divisive and polarizing in which real people are being harmed.”
