Trump-Hating, Activist Bishop Mariann Budde Defends Her “Sermon” At National Prayer Service: “How Could It Not Be Politicized?”

The National Prayer Service is still getting plenty of attention. President Donald Trump was simply fulfilling his inauguration duties yesterday as he attended the National Prayer Service at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump, along with his wife Melania and Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife Usha, were sitting in the front row during the service in the church that has hosted over 10 inaugural prayer services. Though after what happened, the National Prayer Service might find a new home the next time around. That’s because activist Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde blindsided the church service by blending politics with religion. At one point, she directly spoke to President Donald Trump while it was her time to speak and said this: “In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared. There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families, some who fear for their lives. And the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor and poultry farms and meat packing plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals… they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation. But the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals.” There’s even more to the bishop’s “sermon,” but I’ll let you listen to the rest in the video below. Make sure to keep an eye on the reactions of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance… they become living memes as they try to comprehend the church service being overtaken by politics. JD looked like he was on the verge of bursting out in laughter at any second: https://twitter.com/unlimited_ls/status/1881765780632580303?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1881765780632580303%7Ctwgr%5E7fac26aefe771cd7633c29b5792cce640e363b76%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whiskeyriff.com%2F2025%2F01%2F21%2Fdonald-trump-jd-vance-were-living-memes-as-they-sat-through-activist-bishops-sermon-at-national-prayer-service%2F Shortly after the sermon, Trump was stopped by media members and asked what he thought about the National Prayer Service. He gave a rather mundane answer, saying it was "not too exciting" and that they "could have done much better." President Trump waited until later in the day to take to his social media site, Truth Social, in order to deliver how he really felt about the politicized sermon: "The so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was 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... Apart from her inappropriate statements, the service was very boring and an uninspiring one. She is not very good at her job. She and her church owe the public an apology." I'm honestly surprised that Donald Trump didn't say all of that when the news stopped him initially. The sermon that Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde provided has caused a lot of uproar online, so she decided to stop by The View (of all places) to defend herself and what she said to President Trump. Here's what she had to say when she was asked if her message was being politicized or misconstrued: "How could it not be politicized? We’re in a hyper political climate. One of the things I caution about is the culture of contempt in which we live that immediately rushes to the worst possible interpretations of what people are saying and to put them in categories. That's part of the air we breathe now. I was trying to speak a truth that I felt needed to be said, but to do it in as respectful and kind a way as I could, and also to bring other voices into the conversation that had not been heard in the public space for some time." https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1882103190243434919