Donald Trump: US President attacks bishop after criticism

Donald Trump: US President attacks bishop after criticism

Mariann Edgar Budde
Bishop becomes target of US President after criticizing Trump






In a church service, the Bishop of Washington addressed Donald Trump directly with gentle but clear words. Your statements touched a nerve – including with the president.

Donald Trump probably hasn’t heard political criticism for a long time. Not polemical, not emotional, but with gentle words and yet forceful. Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of the diocese in Washington, addressed it during the traditional prayer service after the presidential inauguration in the form of a request directly to Trump, who was sitting in the church with his deputy JD Vance.

“In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy on the people of our country who are now afraid,” the Anglican clergyman said, addressing Trump. She mentioned gay, lesbian and transgender children who now feared for their lives. She also stood up for migrants who feared deportation. They “may not be citizens or have no papers,” said Budde: “But the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors.”

A call for humanity to Donald Trump

Donald Trump has talked a lot in the past few days, but now he had to listen. The president’s face looked stony as he listened to the sermon the day after his inauguration. Mariann Budde’s words went around the world, and many people, not only in the United States, made them their own – in the hope that Trump would be open to reason and humanity in his new term in office.

The 65-year-old bishop took office in 2011 in the Washington Diocese of the US Episcopal Church, part of the Anglican Church. She was the first woman to hold this position. She previously worked as a pastor at a church in Minneapolis. As a bishop in Washington, Budde is geographically close to those in power. This also gives her the role of constantly speaking to their conscience.

In the past, Budde has spoken out on topics such as racism, gun laws, LGBTQ rights and climate protection. She believes that “Jesus calls on all his followers to strive for justice and peace and to respect the dignity of every person,” says her parish’s website.

Bishop criticized Trump in his first term

The bishop is also no stranger to Donald Trump. She had already critically followed his first term in office from 2017 to 2021. In a guest article for the “New York Times” in 2020, Budde found harsh words for Trump’s controversial appearance. He posed with a Bible in front of St. John’s Church – immediately after he announced that, if necessary, he would use the military against the protests following the death of the black man George Floyd. As Bishop of Washington, the Church is within her purview.

Budde wrote at the time that she was “outraged” and “appalled” by how Trump was using the Bible and the church building for his political purposes. “Trump used sacred symbols to give himself the appearance of spiritual authority while taking positions that contradicted the Bible he held in his hands,” criticized Budde.

Trump mocks Mariann Edgar Budde

With her statements, Budde makes it clear that there are Christian believers who do not support Trump and his policies – even though the president often propagates alleged Christian values ​​in his speeches and enjoys a lot of support, especially in evangelical circles. After Trump survived an assassination attempt during the election campaign, he even invoked God’s protection.

“I reached out to the president because I felt like he now has a moment where he feels mandated and empowered to do what he feels called to do,” Budde explained her appeal to CNN host Erin Burnett. “I wanted to say that there is room for mercy. There is room for broader compassion.”

When it comes to Donald Trump, Budde’s words seem to fall on deaf ears. The bishop’s tone was “nasty,” her statements were “inappropriate” and the service was “very boring and uninspired,” the president wrote on his online platform Truth Social. “She’s not very good at her job! She and her church owe the public an apology.”

Some of his followers reacted even more drastically to the sermon. Republican Congressman Mike Collins has already called for Bishop Budde to be put “on the deportation list.”

Source: Stern

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