Donald Trump said “they can do much better” after attending a sermon by a woke bishop in which he advocated “mercy” for illegal immigrants and transgender children.
Asked by reporters at the White House for his assessment of the lecture by Mariann Budde, the left-wing Episcopal bishop of Washington, earlier on Tuesday, Trump replied: “What did you think? Do you like it? Did you find it exciting?
'Not that exciting, right? I didn't think it was a good service. Thank you very much.'
At the end of his remarks he added: “They can do much better.”
It came after Budde, 65, sparked a backlash at the National Prayer Service on Trump's first full day as president when she unleashed a wild lecture claiming trans children were “fearing for their lives” because he was in the Oval Office .
Trump sat stone-faced in the front row, next to First Lady Melania Trump, as the prelate told him that illegal immigrants were “not criminals” and that he should not deport people with children.
After the sermon went viral, an image of Budde's church, St. Paul and St. Andrew United Methodist Church, circulated on social media, showing the church — which reportedly also serves as a migrant shelter — is trying to block ICE and Homeland Security from entering.
While Budde's sermon sparked outrage among conservatives who questioned her decision to politicize the religious service, Republican Congressman Mike Collins said of X, “The person giving this sermon should be added to the deportation list.”
Donald Trump said Mariann Budde, the left-wing Episcopal bishop of Washington, 'could have been a lot better' in a scathing response to her Tuesday sermon
Budde, 65, sparked a backlash at the National Prayer Service on Trump's first full day as president when she unleashed a wild lecture claiming that trans children were “fearing for their lives” because he was in the Oval Office.
After the sermon went viral, an image of Budde's church — which reportedly doubles as a migrant shelter — showed the property's attempts to deny entry to ICE and Homeland Security
In her remarks, Budde addressed the message of her sermon directly to Trump as she implored him to “give mercy to the people in our country who are afraid right now.”
“There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some of whom fear for their lives,” she continued.
On illegal immigrants, a central issue in Trump's victorious presidential platform, Budde urged him not to go ahead with his mass deportation plans.
“The people who pick our crops, clean our office buildings, who work on poultry farms and meatpacking plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants, and work night shifts in hospitals, they may not be citizens or have proper documentation,” she said .
“The vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. I ask you to have compassion, Mr. President, for those in communities whose children fear their parents will be taken away.”
Trump didn't respond to the pointed message as he stared at Budde, though others in his group, including new Vice President JD Vance, had a more telling look on their faces.
Despite the awkward silence in the cathedral, Bishop Budde continued her stunning pro-migrant diatribe against the president.
She added, “Our God teaches us to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in a strange land.”
The sermon quickly drew criticism from conservatives who decried Budde's politicized comments, with Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno and Representative Collins leading the criticism of her speech.
Trump sat stony-faced as Budde delivered her sermon, though others in his group, including new Vice President J.D. Vance, had a more telling look on their faces
Moreno said of X: “As a Catholic and legal immigrant, it is outrageous that a woke bishop would lecture President Trump about deporting illegals.
“It's an insult to all of us who came to this country the right way. If you don't have borders, you don't have a country.'
Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, who watched the inauguration with the Trump family on Monday evening, labeled Budde's lecture as “shameful.”
“She was given a great honor today, an opportunity to unite America around a Christian message at the start of a new administration,” he said on X.
“Instead, she disgraced herself with a lecture you heard on CNN or an episode of The View.”
The bishop, who proudly uses her pronouns in her Instagram biography, is also pro-gay marriage and previously donated to Barack Obama's presidential campaign
In 2020, she hit out at Trump, who visited St. John's Church near the White House after police dispersed protesters
After Budde's speech, her background came under scrutiny as some questioned why she was given the honor of delivering the sermon.
She is known to champion left-wing causes through her ministry, and on her diocesan website she boasts that she is “an advocate and organizer in support of justice issues, including racial equality, gun violence prevention, immigration reform, and full LGBTQ+ inclusion persons. , and the care of creation.'
She also has a long history of criticizing President Trump during his first term.
That included after he stood next to an Episcopal church with a Bible in his hand after chasing protesters away from Lafayette Square near the White House during the Black Lives Matter protests.
She said at the time that Trump's actions were “contrary to the teachings of Jesus and everything we stand for as a church.”
She also condemned Trump while attending an outdoor Black Lives Matter protest in 2020, wearing a mask during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I have given up talking to President Trump. We must replace President Trump,” she said at the time.
