‘Desperation’: Clergy, Conservatives lambaste Episcopal bishop for ‘arming’ pulpit against Trump

A Washington, DC pastor who delivered a sermon on freedom during a church service attended by President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance is facing backlash from other pastors, as well as critics on social media for “arming” the pulpit instead of promoting unity. .

“Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde is the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. She is the first woman to hold this position. She has been given a great honor today, the opportunity to unite America about the Christian message at the beginning of a new administration. Rather she has been given a great honor, the opportunity to unite America about the Christian message at the beginning of a new empire. Rather. , embarrassed himself with a speech you wouldn’t hear on CNN or an episode of The View Shame on you,” Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk posted in X.

Catholic Vote, a conservative non-profit organization, added to X, “Liberal Protestant pastor Mariann Edgar Budde is turning a blind eye to Trump and Vance, arming her sermon to attack them in front of their families by saying they should ‘have mercy’ on gay, lesbian, and transgender children. .

Trump and Vance, along with their families, participated in a long presidential tradition of attending the National Prayer Service at Washington National Cathedral the day after the inauguration. The National Cathedral, an Episcopal Church, has hosted a prayer service after a presidential inauguration since 1933, when Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in.

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However, this year’s service changed when the bishop of the Protestant church warned that gay and transgender children are allegedly “fearing for their lives” and that Trump should have “mercy,” before turning his attention to illegal immigrants living in the US.

Trump and Vance appeared upset by the comments, as Trump looked in his direction, while Vance looked at Trump.

“In the name of our God, I ask you to be kind to the people in our country who are afraid right now. There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families, some fearing for their lives,” Mariann Edgar Budde wanted in the ministry.

President Donald Trump and Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde. (Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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“And the people who build our plants, clean our office buildings, work in chicken farms and meat packing plants, wash dishes when we eat in restaurants and work nights in hospitals, may not be citizens, or have the right amount. documents, but most of the immigrants are not criminals,” he continued.

Pastor and former NFL star Jack Brewer told Fox News Digital that the sermon is “just the beginning of the Democrats’ efforts to take America back from the dangerous grip of DEI.”

Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jack Brewer speaks during a panel discussion at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. (Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“The fact that President Trump wanted God to remain as the foundation of America should have received unbiased praise from all the pastors of our nation. We are talking about DEI and awakening in our government and businesses and it is time to talk about awakening in the churches,” he said.

Pastor Rob Pacienza of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Florida and founder of the Institute for Faith and Culture criticized this in a statement to Fox Digital.

“The strange thing is that the bishop used the pulpit and the service not only to teach the president but also to promote the world view and his awakened ideas. Unity can only be achieved by committing to the truth of the Bible, not to conform to traditions. His sermon showed that the rebellion taught by the major sects. Our nation was founded on the fact that God exists, and he is the only one who defines good and bad,” he said.

Chicago pastor Corey Brooks added that he “would like to know … why he didn’t ask for mercy from the previous administration for these children and immigrants.”

Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde arrives as President Donald Trump looks on during the National Day of Prayer at Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“This Bishop asked Trump and his administration to be merciful to trans kids and immigrants. What I would like to know is why didn’t he ask that the previous administration be merciful to these children and immigrants? Where was he when it was counted? They knew they were violating the crossing law,” Brooks told Fox News Digital. following the sermon.

Pastor Corey Brooks speaks to Fox News. (Fox Stories)

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“We knew that the day of answering was coming. However, where was his request for compassion at that time. What the previous administration did was not compassion but had wrong ideas. They operated on children because of ideas. They allowed people from other countries because of their ideas. .This was not compassion. We must have compassion for our citizens first,” he added.

Some critics of the speech criticized Budde on social media and described it as an attack on Trump and his policies.

The pastor of the Church of the Lord in New York City, David Englehard, added in a statement provided to Fox News Digital that “when compassion separates itself from truth, it becomes a false virtue—one that is easily manipulated, shallow and destructive.”

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“As Christ warned in John 8:44, the father of lies thrives where the truth is rejected, twisting good intentions into instruments of hell.” it is not compassion at all, but an artistic indulgence that serves the enemy of God,” Englehard said.

Additionally, country music singer John Rich responded to the sermon by quoting scripture. “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I say to you: All sins and blasphemies will be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Matthew 12:30.”

John Rich performs at Flagstock in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on Labor Day Monday, September 2, 2024. (Fox News Digital Direct Image)

Trump demanded an apology from the pastor in a Truth Social letter early Wednesday morning, describing his tone as “nasty.”

“The so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a Trump hater. He brought his congregation into the world of politics in a merciless way. He was bad in tone, and not compelling or smart. He failed to mention the number of immigrants who entered our country and killed many people from prisons and mental institutions. His inappropriate statements, the service was boring and Not encouraging. He is not doing his job well, he and his church should apologize!

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His message followed Budde joining CNN, where he explained that he was speaking directly to Trump in the sermon.

“I was talking directly to him. And frankly, as you do in every sermon, I am talking to everyone who is listening in that one conversation with the president. In our country, these two groups of people that I mentioned are the people we live with, and they are presented, in every political campaign, in a very difficult light… about their personality and their place and their place in our society in general,” he said.