Bishop Mariann Budde tells NPR 'I won't apologize' for sermon addressing Trump

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NPR

January 22, 2025 7:00 PM ET


Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde joined NPR's All Things Considered on Wednesday to discuss her hope President Trump's new administration would show compassion toward vulnerable communities following a sermon she made on Tuesday. "I decided to ask him as gently as I could to have mercy," Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, said of her plea to Trump, telling All Things Considered, "how dangerous it is to speak of people in these broad categories, and particularly immigrants, as all being criminals or transgender children somehow being dangerous."

"To be united as a country with so many riches of diversity, we need mercy. We need compassion. We need empathy. And rather than list that as a broad category, as you heard me say, I decided to make an appeal to the president." Her appearance on All Things Considered comes after a prayer service at Washington's National Cathedral, during which the bishop spoke directly to President Trump, who was seated in the front row alongside Vice President Vance.

"Let me make one final plea, Mr. President," Budde said in her sermon, which lasted 15 minutes. "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, turning her gaze towards the president.

Trump and his allies quickly criticized the bishop's remarks, with one Republican congressman saying that the American-born Budde should be "added to the deportation list."

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2025/01/22/nx-s1-5270918/bishop-mariann-edgar-budde-trump-interview

[Think. Again.]

1. Thank You Bishop Budde.

[Joinfortmill]

2. Trump is a tyrant.

[Harker]

3. Perhaps there's a Christian somewhere feeling duped. n/t

[rampartd]

4. "i'm really sorry about that 'blessed are the meek' stuff" jesus

and can i get my loaves and fishes back?

she has nothing to apologize for, but i guess francis should enjoy this short time off the top of the "religious leader most hated by right wing lunatics" charts.

trump is probably browsing his kompromat tapes looking for the bishop's pool boy video.

[Justice matters.]

23. Shhh... or convicted felon in chief will ask his tech bros

to fabricate one using their AI gimmicks if he reads ideas like that.

[gab13by13]

5. Bishop Budde was superb last night on Rachel

Rachel asked her why she said what she said, Bishop Budde said because no one else was out there defending the immigrants. That statement hit me like a ton of bricks, she was right. Congressional Democrats had just voted for an anti-immigrant bill that passed Congress.

Rachel made an observation that maybe the religious community will be in the forefront to bring down Trump. Interesting hypothesis.

The false prophet Televangelicals and right wing priests will still lay their dirty hands on Trump.

[maxsolomon]

25. the Religious Community will not be in the forefront of bringing MFer down.

Liberal Catholicism and the Episcopal Church are distinct (and shrinking) minorities.

Maddow is whistling Dixie.

[soldierant]

37. The group "Faithful America" has every intention of doing that. nt

[The Grand Illuminist]

6. One of 2 things might happenedl

1. Suspend or revoke the church's 501c3

2. The church will kiss the ring and apologize on behalf.

[gab13by13]

7. Bishop Budde said she isn't apologizing.

[The Grand Illuminist]

8. Never said she would specifically

Another Bishop might on behalf of the church.

[Red Mountain]

9. They can't really apologize based on the content......

I guess they could apologize for having the gall to speak like that to our REAL lord and king.

[Wiz Imp]

10. Not going to happen. Her sermon was completely in line with the positions of the Episcopal church.

[mn9driver]

12. That is unlikely.

Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe, the titular head of the Episcopal Church in the United States, has her back:

https://livingchurch.org/news/news-episcopal-church/presiding-officers-question-trumps-deportation-plans/

If anything, they are going to ramp up the Church’s criticism of Trump. I’m proud of them and glad my church is standing up.

[BumRushDaShow]

16. That church is run by OLD money (descendents of the founders)

not these "nouveau riche posers" sitting in the Oval Office.

[mn9driver]

17. 10 presidents starting with George Washington

have been Episcopalian.

[BumRushDaShow]

18. Yup

It goes back a ways and was even considered for establishment as the "official" church (that or at least the Anglican Church from whence it descended), but they opted to make the U.S. secular.

(*I am a "smells and bells" Episcopalian as a side note )

ETA - and here in Philly, there is Christ Church (current building built in the 1700s but established in the 1690s and where they went when Philly was the Capitol) - https://christchurchphila.org/



A few of us from work used to go in there on Ash Wednesday every once in awhile.

[electric_blue68]

31. My favorite Church in NYC is The Cathedral of St John The Divine...

Episcopalian.

Gorgeous structure, righteous Liberal Christianity. And the wonderful St Francis Blessing of the Animals Mass, and blessings afterwards.

Second favorite: Riverside Church- Liberal Baptist. Beautiful Interior. Rev William Barber spoke there about a week before the 2016 Election.

[wolfie001]

11. Of course she's not going to apologize

Stupid question and the NPR reporter's covering herself from RW criticism because she wants to keep her job, NPR is tilted to republicans since GWB and most news media is spineless run by billionaire oligarchs.

[Wiz Imp]

13. So now Republicans want to deport American born CITIZENS who didn't even address Trump by name

But simply gave a sermon that emphasized the teaching of Jesus Christ from the Bible (which Republicans clearly disagree with even though they claim to be "Christian" ). This is McCarthyism on steroids. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

[azureblue]

14. She spoke the words of Jesus

Paraphrasing Matthew 25: 41-46 and other passages. The very foundation of Christianity. And Trump and MAGA get all butt hurt, and demand an apology? WTF? May the consequences of refusing his teachings come very soon...

[Historic NY]

15. ‪Guess Trump won't be back to the Cathedral, even when he's dead 🤣

[sarge1943]

19. No one has to apologize for telling the truth n/t

[Kid Berwyn]

20. Trump's parents must've taught him the wrong Golden Rule.

It goes:

Treat others as you would like to be treated.

Instead he grew up thinking:

He who has the gold rules.

Thus the little shitstain tyke grew up to get away with murder.

And treason.

[Skittles]

29. you don't need religion to be a decent person

how about doing good because it's the right thing to do, not because some kind of reward is expected in the end

Trump is malignant narcissist who is entirely incapable of being a decent human being

[Raven123]

21. Payback for the Bible pump in 2020

Everyone remembers Trump’s parade to St John’s Episcopal Church in 2020. Bishop Budde was not asked if St John’s could be used as a prop for his display. Great that he had to sit there and listen while she had the power to use her pulpit to explain humanity to him.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-bible-photo-mariann-edgar-budde-2_n_679129f3e4b039fc1278140a

[republianmushroom]

22. Thank you Bishop Mariann.

[AllaN01Bear]

24. she does the walk and does the talk. up your nose with a rubber hose ,,,

[AllaN01Bear]

26. id say and ask ,why and where to. if i land id go to their immigration ppl and say

im a deportee and here illeaglly. send me back. good on her.

[Initech]

27. Good!

Fuck Trump and fuck the Fox News screaming toddlers for this. I am worried about her safety now.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

28. Nor should she

[twodogsbarking]

30. All seriousness aside I think this is rather amusing.

[Dem4life1234]

32. Can't believe this is even a thing

Is he that big of a baby? Didn't think he would catch a hernia over it. Wow.

A real man would have just taken it and moved on, she was not nasty to him, her words were calm and kind.

I'm sick of that idiot. He is just mad because she was a woman and probably part of the LGBT.

[4catsmom]

33. only in Trump's America

can someone who is actually preaching the tenets of Christianity be vilified for preaching Christianity

[ancianita]

36. and only by Mammon power worshippers

[NameAlreadyTaken]

34. She owes no apology for reminding someone of

the teachings of Christ.

[liberal N proud]

35. Good for her

If she were my minister, I probably would still attend church.

[mpcamb]

38. It's late in the discussion, but I wish it hadn't been an NPR article since...

it give a segment ofthe population a licence to say "typical lib response."
Had it been a different source it might've reached and been read by wider span of the public.
People need to start carrying around the weight of who this freak of nature is.

[BumRushDaShow]

39. She has "done the circuit"

On MSNBC -

On CNN -

On ABC -

And most "print" media have reported it.

I first saw it on "The Hill" (definitely a source that is the opposite of a "typical lib response" ) - https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5101739-reverend-refuses-apologize-trump/

Then I found it on NPR, published around the same time, and opted to go with NPR's version...