 "Who is Mariann Budde, the bishop who pleaded to Trump to 'have mercy' on immigrants & LGBTQ people?")
The Right Rev Mariann Edgar Budde sparked headlines and garnered backlash from Trump after she used her sermon at the National Cathedral prayer to raise concerns about immigrants and LGBTQ+ individuals. In a lengthy post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump described the bishop as a “Radical Left hard-line Trump hater” adding that “she brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way”.
During the prayer service, Budde urged Trump to “have mercy upon” immigrants and LGBTQ+ people. Trump eventually described the bishop’s tone as “nasty” and called the service “boring and unsurprising”. He asked Budde to issue a public apology. However, the reverend stood tall on her stance and refused to apologise for her remarks.
Many eventually saw the bishop and her remarks as the symbol of resistance to the far-right ideology that has taken over the United States in recent years. During her sermon, Budde asked Trump to show mercy to scared individuals, including “gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families” some, of who she said “fear for their lives”. The remarks from the Bishop came while Trump was sitting in front of her with First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance.
Who is Mariann Edgar Budde?
The 65-year-old reverend was the first woman to serve as the spiritual leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. She was elected to the role back in 2011 and before that, she served as the rector of St John’s Episcopal church in Minneapolis for 18 years. “Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were once strangers in this land,” the bishop asked the president at the summon.
Interestingly, this was not the first time that Budde has called out Trump’s radical policies and clashed with the Republican firebrand. During the business mogul’s first stint in the White House, Budde published an opinion piece in the New York Times condemning the president.
In the article published in June 2020, she expressed outrage over Trump’s appearance in front of St John’s Episcopal Church in Washington DC, when he held up a Bible for a photo-op after federal officers used force to clear a crowd of peaceful protesters demonstrating against the death of George Floyd.
At that time, Budde wrote that Trump had “used sacred symbols to cloak himself in the mantle of spiritual authority while espousing positions antithetical to the Bible that he held in his hands." In the same month, she told ABC News that she had “given up speaking to President Trump”, adding: “We need to replace President Trump.” “We need leadership that will lead us in the ways that this country deserves,” she remarked.
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More Shorts‘A supporter of justice concerns’
On the Episcopal Diocese of Washington website, Budde is described as “an advocate and organizer in support of justice concerns, including racial equity, gun violence prevention, immigration reform, the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons, and the care of creation.” She earned her bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Rochester.
Meanwhile, she obtained her master’s in divinity and a doctor of ministry from Virginia Theological Seminary. She and her husband, Paul, have two adult sons and are also grandparents, CBS News reported.
Apart from the ministerial duties, Budde had authored three books. They are titled “How We Learn to Be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith, Receiving Jesus: The Way of Love, and Gathering Up the Fragments: Preaching as Spiritual Practice.”
Budde stands tall
Following Trump’s remarks, Budde made it clear that she will not apologise for her remarks. She told Time that she has heard from many people who are grateful that someone was willing to speak on their behalf” as well as those who “have said they do wish me dead, and that’s a little heartbreaking.”
“I don’t hate President Trump. I strive not to hate anyone and I dare say that I am not of the ‘radical left’ either, whatever that means. That is not who I am,” the bishop responded to Trump’s remarks. “I am not going to apologize for asking for mercy for others.” she furthered.
She maintained a similar stance during her appearance on The View. “As I was pondering what are the foundations of unity, I wanted to emphasize respecting the honour and dignity of every human being, basic honesty and humility,” she told the co-host of the show.
“Knowing that a lot of people in our country right now are really scared, I wanted to take the opportunity in the context of that service for unity, to say we need to treat everyone with dignity, and we need to be merciful, I was trying to counter the narrative that is so so divisive and polarizing, and in which people, real people, are being are being harmed," she concluded.
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