"I was trying to speak a truth" - Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde defends addressing "culture of contempt" at Trump sermon

Mariann Edgar Budde, the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, defended herself on ABC's The View. On January 21, 2025, after the inauguration, she appealed directly to President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance during a prayer service at Washington National Cathedral.

In her sermon, Budde requested the President to show mercy to immigrants and the members of the LGBTQ+ community. She claimed the majority of immigrants are not criminals adding that they are good people who pay taxes. She said,

"In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and Independent families, some who fear for their lives."

Hours later, Trump wrote a lengthy reply on Truth Social, the social media app, calling the bishop's sermon "boring" and "uninspiring." He also demanded an apology.

"Apart from her inappropriate statements, the service was a very boring and uninspiring one. She is not very good at her job! She and her church owe the public an apology!"

On January 22, 2025, Budde appeared on The View and shared her perspective. She stated that we are in a "culture of contempt." People misinterpret statements without knowing the context and rush to worse interpretations.

"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."

Budde did not apologize for her words and claimed it was "a truth" that needed to be said. She continued,

"And 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, voices that had not been heard in the public space for some time."

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Mariann Edgar Budde's sermon comes after Trump bans CBP One app

First Groups Of Deportees Of New Trump Era Are Sent Back To Mexico - Source: Getty

Budde's sermon came after Trump banned the CBP One app within hours of taking his presidential oath. The app was released in October 2020 by the US Customs and Border Protection.

According to NDTV's report on January 22, 2025, the app was first launched for commercial trucking companies. But in January 2023, the Biden administration expanded its utility. Immigrants could use the app to seek asylum or protection in the US.

Illegal and unauthorized immigrants could apply for appointments through the app. Every day, the app selected 1,450 applicants through the "lottery system" for an appointment. Once approved, they could gain legal entry into the US.

Trump has been against the app in the past. In October 2024, he claimed Mexican cartel leaders allegedly used the app to drop migrants in the US. He said,

"They have an app that's being used by the cartel leaders — the people that [are] making billions of dollars. The cartel leaders, they can just call the app and they say where to drop the illegal migrants."

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Mariann Edgar Budde's sermon has since gone viral on social media, creating a discourse among netizens.