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During Donald Trump's inaugural prayer service, a Bishop appealed to the 47th US President to have mercy on gay, lesbian, and transgender children. Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde's plea came as a direct response to Trump's latest policies - ending birthright citizenship and recognising only two genders in the US.
On Tuesday, Trump visited the Washington National Cathedral for the inaugural prayer service. There, the Bishop pleaded, "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."
Budde also defended immigrants, who perform essential jobs and are "not criminals." She said, "The people who pick our farms, and clean our office buildings, who labour in poultry farms and meat-packing plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals - they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals."
Budde described undocumented immigrants as "tax payers" and "good neighbours".
"Have mercy on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away... Our god teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger. For we were all once strangers in this land," she said.
Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde: "The vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors...may I ask you to have mercy Mr. President on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away." pic.twitter.com/iXaHJrPsof
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 21, 2025
Trump, along with wife, Melina, and Vice President JD Vance and Usha Vance, sat in the front row as Budde called for Mr President to have compassion and stand true to the trust people have bestowed upon him.
When a reporter asked Trump for a reaction to the sermon, he said, "Not too exciting, was it. I didn't think it was a good service. No...They can do much better."
President Trump following National Prayer Service: "Not too exciting, was it. I didn't think it was a good service. No...They can do much better." pic.twitter.com/iNpWGKaXhN
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 21, 2025
Sharing a clipping of the sermon on X (formerly Twitter), Mike Collins said the person giving this sermon "should be added to the deportation list".
Trump's Latest Crackdown On Transgenders, Immigrants
During his inaugural speech at the US Capitol, Donald Trump came down heavily on the third gender. He said, "As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female."
Calling the new moves a "revolution of common sense", he said, "I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life."
He also announced restrictions on immigration, attempting to end birthright citizenship.
"All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came," he said.