President Donald Trump took aim at Bishop Mariann Budde, the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, after she delivered a sermon at the National Prayer Service on January 21, 2025, calling on the president to show “mercy” to marginalized groups, including immigrants and LGBTQ+ people. Trump, on his first full day of his second term, took to Truth Social the following day to express his disapproval of the sermon.
In his post, Trump, 78, labeled Budde a “Radical Left hard line Trump hater” and accused her of politicizing the service. “She brought her church into the world of politics in a very ungracious way,” Trump wrote on January 22. “She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart.”
Trump, who has had a history of clashes with religious leaders and critics from the left, continued to lambaste the bishop’s message. “She failed to mention the large number of illegal migrants that came into our Country and killed people,” Trump said, echoing a controversial claim he made during his 2024 presidential campaign. The claim asserts that many immigrants who have entered the U.S. have contributed to a rise in crime, including crimes allegedly committed by people released from jails and mental institutions.
In his post, Trump also dismissed the sermon as “very boring” and “uninspiring,” and he claimed that Budde was bad at her job, concluding that “She and her church owe the public an apology.”
Budde’s remarks, made during the inaugural prayer service at Washington National Cathedral, were directed at Trump and other U.S. leaders in attendance. The reverend, in her sermon, expressed concern for marginalized communities in the U.S., particularly those who might be fearful under the new administration. “I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” Budde said, addressing the president. “There are gay, lesbian, and transgender people in Democratic, Republican, and independent families, some who fear for their lives … and the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals.”
Trump, sitting with First Lady Melania Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, appeared to maintain a stoic expression during Budde’s address. Vice President Vance, sitting beside his wife, was seen glancing over at her, appearing frustrated by the sermon.
In addition to calling for mercy and compassion for marginalized groups, Budde also prayed for unity across political and social divides. “I ask you to pray for unity as a people and a nation — not for agreement, political or otherwise — but for the kind of unity that fosters community across diversity and division,” she said.
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Following the service, Trump shared his thoughts with reporters, dismissing the event as underwhelming. “Not too exciting, was it? I didn’t think it was a very good service, no,” Trump said. “They could do much better.”
Budde, who has been critical of Trump in the past, had previously condemned the former president’s role in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, calling it “nothing Christian” in a Facebook post. She had also criticized his actions during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, where Trump posed for a controversial photo outside St. John’s Episcopal Church, and his “racialized rhetoric” following his remarks telling four congresswomen of color to “go back” to where they came from.
While the national prayer service was meant to offer a nonpartisan moment of reflection for the country, the tension between the religious community and Trump has been a longstanding theme, particularly since his controversial actions and rhetoric during his first term.
