Washington, D.C. Episcopal Bishop Marian Budde said Wednesday that she addressed President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance about transgender children and illegal immigration at the National Prayer Service, preaching “unity.”

Budde told Trump and Vance during Tuesday’s service that gay, lesbian and transgender children and undocumented immigrants are “afraid” of the new administration, urging the president to “give them mercy.” The president and vice president looked at each other with a blank stare. . Appearing on “The View,” the pastor told his co-hosts that he preaches “unity” and tries to include everyone in the conversation.

“My responsibility that morning was to reflect and pray with the people for unity, and in reflecting on what the basis of unity is, honor and dignity, basic honesty and humility for all human beings. I wanted to emphasize respect, and that unity requires a degree of compassion, compassion, and understanding. So, like I said, I know that a lot of people are really scared in our country right now, so I want to take this opportunity to do it in the context of unification outreach. , I wanted to say that we need to treat everyone with dignity and we need to be merciful. “I was trying to counter a very divisive and polarizing narrative that real people are being harmed by.”

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Budde said there was a need to express “what was going on.” [her] During her speech, she said she had “something to say” and hoped Trump and Vance would consider her message. (Related: Trump and Vance roll their eyes as left-wing pastor lectures on transgender and illegal immigration)

playing cards Posted Truth Social magazine claimed that Mr Budde had used religion for politics in a “very unscrupulous manner” and that he owed the public an apology.

“The so-called bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Meeting Tuesday morning was a hard-liner on the radical left who hates Mr. Trump,” the president said. “She brought her church into politics in a very disrespectful way. She had a bad tone, she wasn’t persuasive, she wasn’t smart. She brought in a lot of people who came into our country and killed people. did not mention illegal immigration, many of whom are in prison or mentally ill. It’s a huge crime wave happening in America. Other than her inappropriate remarks, the service was very boring and uninspiring. No. She and her church owe the public an apology!”

The president told Daily Caller White House correspondent Reagan Reese on Tuesday that the sermon was not “too provocative.”

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While answering questions from co-host Sarah Haynes, the pastor said her message was being “misinterpreted” and “politicized” due to a so-called “culture of contempt” and “overly politicized climate.” He said that

“I think you hit a nerve,” Haynes began. “President Trump originally said yesterday, ‘That wasn’t good service,’ but on social media you’re a ‘radical left hardliner Trump hater,’ you’re bringing the church into politics, and you’re calling the church and the He apologized publicly. Given your role, it seems unsurprising that you speak up for the marginalized, those who read the Bible and know the ways of Jesus, but your question may be misunderstood. , do you think it’s politicized? ”

“We’re in a hyper-political situation where there’s no reason not to politicize it,” Budde said. “One of the things I want to note is this culture of contempt that we live in, where people are so quick to put the worst interpretation on what they say and put it into a category like the one you just described. It’s part of the air we breathe now.”

President Trump signed 11 executive orders related to the U.S.-Mexico border and illegal immigration, including declaring a national emergency, reinstating the Remain in Mexico policy, and revoking birthright citizenship for children born to illegal immigrants. . These quick steps come as border encounters hit a record high of 8.5 million under former President Joe Biden’s administration.

The president too signed Monday’s executive order directed the federal government to recognize only two genders, male and female, and required government agencies to use the term “sex” instead of “gender.”

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