President Donald Trump pulled no punches Wednesday, blasting the Episcopal bishop of Washington, DC, for delivering a politically charged sermon during the National Prayer Service. The Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, a longtime left-wing activist disguised as a religious leader, used her platform to lecture the president on immigration, LGBT issues, and more, prompting Trump to call her performance “nasty” and “ungracious.”
Taking to Truth Social just after midnight, Trump wrote, “The so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a Radical Left hard-line Trump hater. She brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way.”
Trump specifically took issue with Budde’s emotional plea for him to “have mercy” on immigrant families, calling out her glaring omission of the harsh realities tied to illegal immigration. “She failed to mention the large number of illegal migrants that came into our Country and killed people,” Trump said. “Many were deposited from jails and mental institutions. It is a giant crime wave that is taking place in the USA.”
Budde also inserted a predictable progressive trope into her sermon, focusing on “gay, lesbian, and transgender children” and their supposed fear for their lives under Trump’s administration. In a later interview with CNN, Budde admitted that she deliberately directed her remarks at the president, describing her sermon as a “one-on-one conversation” with him.
“I was speaking to the president because I felt he has this moment now where he feels charged and empowered to do what he feels called to do, and I wanted to say there is room for mercy,” Budde told the outlet.
Despite her insistence that her comments were delivered “gently” and “respectfully,” the content of her remarks left many conservatives outraged.
“The bishop was extreme in her views — extremely out of line and out of touch, and what she did was uncalled for,” House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) said in response. “Perhaps we should pray for her.”
Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) wasn’t as restrained, posting on X that Budde “should be added to the deportation list.”
Conservative religious leaders also condemned Budde’s approach. Sean Feucht, founder of *Let Us Worship*, said he couldn’t argue with Trump’s response, adding, “I was there, and I agree.” Pastor Rob McCoy, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Thousand Oaks, took aim at Budde’s progressive activism, arguing that her focus on “sexual preference” rather than orthodox Christianity is why Americans are leaving mainline churches in droves.
Budde’s history of political stunts is well-documented. In 2020, she made headlines for criticizing Trump after he held a Bible outside St. John’s Episcopal Church, calling his actions inappropriate even though the church had been vandalized by rioters the night before.
For many Americans, Tuesday’s display served as yet another example of how leftist ideologues are using religious institutions to advance their political agenda. Instead of uniting the nation in prayer, Budde chose division and partisanship—a move that backfired spectacularly.
