President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded an apology from the Episcopal bishop of Washington after she made a direct appeal to him during a prayer service marking his inauguration to have mercy on the LGBTQ+ community and migrant workers who are in the United States illegally.<\/p>\n
Referencing Trump\u2019s belief that he was saved by God from assassination, the Right Rev. Mariann Budde said, \u201cYou 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
WATCH: A look at the history of U.S. immigration policies that led to today\u2019s complex system<\/p>\n
After he returned to the White House, Trump said, \u201cI didn\u2019t think it was a good service\u201d and \u201cthey could do much better.\u201d But later, in an overnight post on his social media site, he sharply criticized the \u201cso-called Bishop\u201d as a \u201cRadical Left hard line Trump hater.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way. She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart,\u201d said Trump, a Republican, adding that Budde didn\u2019t mention that some migrants have come to the United States and killed people.<\/p>\n
\u201cApart from her inappropriate statements, the service was a very boring and uninspiring one. She is not very good at her job!\u201d Trump said. \u201cShe and her church owe the public an apology!\u201d<\/p>\n
A cathedral spokesperson did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration has already issued executive orders rolling back transgender rights and toughening immigration policies.<\/p>\n
The Washington National Cathedral service was largely focused on national unity. Trump and Vice President JD Vance and their families attended, along with House Speaker Mike Johnson and Trump\u2019s defense secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth.<\/p>\n
In her sermon, Budde said they gathered \u201cto pray for unity as a people and a nation \u2014 not for agreement, political or otherwise \u2014 but for the kind of unity that fosters community across diversity and division.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added, \u201cUnity is not partisan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evangelicals were at the service but not on the program<\/p>\n
More than a dozen religious leaders spoke during the interfaith service, including those from Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu traditions.<\/p>\n
Notably absent from the invited clergy with speaking roles were conservative evangelicals, who are among Trump\u2019s strongest supporters.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, some of those evangelical supporters were in the pews.<\/p>\n
In attendance were Robert Jeffress, a longtime Trump supporter and pastor of Dallas\u2019 First Baptist Church; Paula White-Cain, a televangelist and key spiritual adviser during Trump\u2019s first term; and Lorenzo Sewell, the pastor of Detroit\u2019s 180 Church, who gave a spirited benediction at Monday\u2019s inauguration.<\/p>\n
A new kind of inaugural prayer service<\/p>\n
The Washington National Cathedral has hosted 10 official inaugural prayer services for presidents of both major political parties. The tradition dates back to 1933.<\/p>\n
The latest service had a different emphasis than previous ones. Its focus was on the nation instead of the new administration \u2014 a plan made before Election Day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are in a unique moment in our country\u2019s history, and it is time to approach this differently,\u201d said the Very Rev. Randy Hollerith, dean of the Episcopal cathedral, in an October statement. \u201cThis will be a service for all Americans, for the well-being of our nation, for our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The texts and songs revolved around themes of compassion and togetherness, including a reading from Deuteronomy 10:17-21, which speaks of taking care of orphans and widows and all who are in need.<\/p>\n
Sermons at inaugural services have often been given by ministers aligned with the incoming administration. In 2021, the Rev. William Barber, a progressive civil rights leader, preached before President Joe Biden, a Democrat, at the cathedral.<\/p>\n
Budde, who gave this year\u2019s sermon, has joined other cathedral leaders in criticizing Trump previously, rebuking his \u201cracialized rhetoric\u201d and blaming him for inciting violence on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to keep him in power.<\/p>\n
Budde was \u201coutraged\u201d in 2020 after Trump staged an appearance in front of St. John\u2019s Episcopal Church, which is near the White House. He held up a Bible after the area had been cleared of peaceful protesters.<\/p>\n
Her sermon directed at Trump on Tuesday provoked a lively reaction on social media. Austen Ivereigh, a biographer of Pope Francis, wrote on X that the bishop \u201cnamed the truth\u201d when she spoke to Trump and Vance. \u201cTheir expressions of fury and discomfort suggest she nailed it,\u201d Ivereigh said.<\/p>\n
Jeffress, in contrast, posted on X that Budde \u201cinsulted rather than encouraged our great president\u201d and that \u201cthere was palpable disgust in the audience with her words.\u201d<\/p>\n
Music made for Trump<\/p>\n
The one part of Tuesday\u2019s service that seemed tailor-made for Trump was the inclusion of opera singer Christopher Macchio, who also sang the national anthem at the inauguration.<\/p>\n
The tenor sang \u201cAve Maria,\u201d a favorite song of Trump and one that Macchio sang at a Trump rally and the Republican National Convention.<\/p>\n
Before the service began, Macchio performed hymns like \u201cHow Great Thou Art\u201d and another Trump favorite, \u201cHallelujah,\u201d written by Leonard Cohen.<\/p>\n
As the prayer service neared its end, Trump joined others in singing \u201cAmerica the Beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump also thanked many of the clergy members who participated as they processed past him \u2014 except for Budde, whom he did not acknowledge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded an apology from the Episcopal bishop of Washington after she made a direct appeal to him during a prayer service marking his inauguration to have mercy on the LGBTQ+ community and migrant workers who are in the United States illegally. Referencing Trump\u2019s belief that he was saved by God […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5951,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5950","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-daily-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5950"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5950"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5950\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5952,"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5950\/revisions\/5952"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}