Trump demands Bishop Mariann Budde apologize for National Prayer Service sermon

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Jan 22, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump Wednesday demanded an apology from the Episcopal bishop who criticized his hardline policies on immigration and LGBTQ rights at the National Prayer Service on his first full day back in the White House.

A day after Trump was forced to grimly endure the tough-talking service by Bishop Mariann Budde, the president derided her as a”so-called bishop” and worse.

“(Bishop Budde) is a radical Left hard line Trump hater. She brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way. She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart,” Trump wrote on his social media site.

Trump called on Budde and the church to apologize for embarrassing him by allowing Budde to deliver a rare rebuke to his face.

“She is not very good at her job!” Trump wrote. “She and her church owe the public an apology!”

There was no immediate response from Budde or the National Cathedral.

Budde declined to address Trump’s demand for an apology in an appearance Wednesday on “The View.” But she did say she would be happy to meet the president one-on-one if he asked for a meeting.

“I was trying to speak a truth in a way that was as respectful and kind as I could and to bring in other voices,” Budde said on the show.

The new president grimaced in the front row of the pews Tuesday morning as Budde called on him to “have mercy” on undocumented immigrants and the transgender community who were targeted by his hard-line Day One blizzard of executive orders.

“In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” said Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington.

Budde rattled off a laundry list of crucial jobs that undocumented immigrants play in American society, including agricultural, restaurant and service workers, and said they should not be considered criminals.

Trump’s MAGA allies denounced Budde on social media as a “woke bishop” who should be punished for daring to criticize Trump’s policies to his face.

Some progressives countered by hailing Budde as a hero for having the courage of her convictions to stand up to Trump’s anti-trans and anti-immigrant policies.