Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, who asked that Donald Trump have mercy on LGBTQ children and immigrants during a prayer service he attended on Tuesday morning, has spoken out after the president demanded an apology from her. Budde, the first woman to serve as the spiritual leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, used Tuesdays prayer service for the inauguration to make a direct plea to Trump, who sat in the first pew with First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Second Lady Usha Vance on behalf of 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, Budde said during Tuesdays service. She said most immigrants, even those without proper documentation, were good neighbours and the vast majority are not criminals. We were all once strangers in this land, she said. Trump, who on Monday during his first hours in office signed executive orders on immigration and transgender rights, told reporters after the service that it was not too exciting, was it? They could do much better, he said. Later, Trump wrote in a lengthy Truth Social post that Budde is bad at her job and called her service uninspiring, nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart. She and her church, he wrote, owe the public an apology. 
I am not going to apologize for asking for mercy for others, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde told Time magazine in an interview published Wednesday afternoon. Appearing on The View, Budde said she felt it her responsibility to use her pulpit to pray with the nation for unity. So, knowing that a lot of people, as I said, in our country right now are really scared, I wanted to take the opportunity in the context of that service for unity to say we need to treat everyone with dignity, and we need to be merciful, Budde said. I was trying to counter the narrative that is so divisive and polarizing and in which people, real people, are being harmed. Budde declined to comment on Trumps body language during her service. Ive been preaching for a long time, and Ive long since given up trying to read peoples body language as Im preaching because Id be wrong most of the time, she said. I had what I felt was in my heart to say, and I had to leave it to them, to all of us, to take from whatever my words were. She added that she has never been invited to speak one-on-one with Trump but would welcome the opportunity. The post Female bishop who confronted President Trump says she won’tapologize appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.
