A day after beginning his second term in office, President Donald Trump’s harsh crackdown on illegal immigrants and the LGBTQ+ community prompted a sermon by a bishop calling on him to “show mercy” to the “scared” people.
Trump started his first full day in the Oval Office by attending a prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral. During the service, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde urged the newly inaugurated president to show compassion for those who are scared of the consequences of his decisions, particularly illegal immigrants and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
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
“In the name of the 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,” said Budde in a sincere appeal she made from the pulpit.
Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde emphasized the vital role of undocumented immigrants in U.S. society, acknowledging that while they may be in the country illegally, they are valuable members of their communities.
“The people who pick our crops 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. They pay taxes and are good neighbours,” Budde said.
“I ask you to have mercy Mr President on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away,” she added.
As she delivered her sermon, Trump sat with a solemn expression next to his wife Melania Trump and the second couple of the U.S.
This sermon came in the wake of Trump’s actions against these communities just one day into his presidency. To fulfill his promise of controlling immigration, Trump has moved to deport millions of undocumented individuals. He also banned the CBP One app, mobilized military forces to the U.S.-Mexico border to curb illegal immigration, and abolished birthright citizenship.
Staying true to his conservative values, Trump also refused to recognize any gender beyond male and female, a significant setback for the LGBTQ+ community in the U.S.
Trump’s reaction
Caught off guard by Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde’s sermon, President Trump appeared unimpressed with the service. As he was leaving, a reporter asked him how he felt about it, to which Trump retorted, “What did you think? Did you like it, did you find it exciting?”
“Not too exciting, was it? I didn’t think it was a good service. No… They can do much better,” he said.
