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President Trump seethes at 'nasty' bishop who told him to 'have mercy,' demands apology

WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump fumed in an overnight post on social media at a bishop who used a sermon to plead directly to him to "have mercy" on scared immigrants and transgender children, demanding she issue a public apology.

Trump, in a 12:39 a.m. ET post Wednesday on Truth Social, called Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde a "Radical Left hard line Trump hater" who "brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way."

"She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart," Trump added.

Budde, in a sermon during an inaugural prayer service Tuesday at the National Cathedral that Trump attended, gave what she called "one final plea," urging the newly sworn in president to "have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now."

She singled out immigrants who are in the country illegally and transgender children.

"She failed to mention the large number of illegal migrants that came into our Country and killed people," Trump said in his post. "Many were deposited from jails and mental institutions. It is a giant crime wave that is taking place in the USA. Apart from her inappropriate statements, the service was a very boring and uninspiring one. She is not very good at her job! She and her church owe the public an apology!"

In her sermon, Budde said, "There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives."

Regarding immigrants, she said, "The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meat packing plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals ‒ they they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals."

Trump and Vice President JD Vance were seated inside the cathedral next to their families as Budde made the remarks. Vance seemed agitated as the pastor spoke, making glances to his wife Usha Vance and toward Trump, who looked drifted his head downward.

Budde called immigrants "good neighbors" who pay taxes and are "faithful members" of churches, temples, synagogues and other places of worship.

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"I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away, and that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here," Budde said.

"Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land."

Budde, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington since 2011, is known for her liberal views. She previously criticized Trump in 2020 during his first term after he walked unannounced to St. John’s Episcopal Church ‒ across the street from the White House and part of her diocese ‒ to hold up a Bible during protests following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

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