"The 'free speech party'"- Internet reacts as GOP member demands deportation of Bishop Budde who made pro-LGBTQ plea with Trump

On Tuesday, January 21, Mike Collins—the Republican representative from Georgia—criticized the bishop at Trump's inaugural prayer service, who asked the US President for "mercy" toward immigrants and the LGBTQ+ community. In an X post, Collins wrote:

"The person giving this sermon should be added to the deportation list."

Collins' statement has since gone viral, with his tweet receiving over 50 million views. Another @PopCrave tweet about the Republican's comment regarding Bishop Mariann Budde's plea has attracted the attention of netizens, with one of them commenting:

"The 'free speech party.'"

Some netizens considered the Congressman's statement as an indication that the Republicans "hate freedom of speech."

"f you put all the republicans in a room together, they’d have one collective brain cell," commented an X user.

"Hmm for a party that cries about freedom of speech, they sure seem to hate freedom of speech. They also hate the constitution and everything America stands for if you'd suggest as a sitting congressman, that someone should be deported for preaching the gospel in a church," wrote another.

"Deporting someone for speaking the lessons of Christ," posted one other user.

Meanwhile, others criticized Collins for his sense of "entitlement," trying to deport someone for displaying decency and "kindness."

"Can't even begin to process the entitlement here newsflash being a decent human being isn't something you can deport someone for," replied a netizen.

"Are you kidding me?! GOP Congressman wants to DEPORT a US-born bishop for speaking up for kindness?!" commented another.

"I mean come on now you can’t just deport anybody you don’t like. Left wants Elon deported right wants bishop lady deported," added a user.

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Trump called Bishop Mariann Budde a "hard line Trump hater" in a Truth Social post

Bishop Mariann Budde, who held the service on the day of Trump's inauguration, put forward her plea to the president, saying:

"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."

Then, speaking about the immigrants who are now at risk of being deported in the wake of the deportation executive order signed by Trump after joining office on Monday, Budde said:

"They may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches and mosques..."

Mariann Budde's plea during the service comes after Trump promised to carry out the largest deportation in the history of the US, as reported by NewsNation on January 22. Meanwhile, the 78-year-old didn't appear impressed by the Bishop's message.

Per NBC News on January 22, as Trump was walking through the White House colonnade later on Tuesday, reporters asked him his thoughts on the sermon, to which he responded:

"Not too exciting, was it? I didn’t think it was a good service, no. Thank you very much... They can do much better."

A day after the sermon, the President addressed it in a Truth Social post, writing:

"The so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a Radical Left hard line Trump hater."

The 78-year-old claimed that Budde brought her church "into the world of politics in a very ungracious way" and in a "nasty" tone, which was not compelling or smart. The President further added that Budde was "not very good at her job," and she owed the public an apology.

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The plea for LGBTQ+ recognition and protection comes after Trump signed an executive order of a federal government policy to recognize only "two sexes, male and female" on Monday.