Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, who asked that President Trump “have mercy” on LGBTQ children and immigrants during a prayer service he attended in January, says she hopes Pride Month celebrations this year help LGBTQ people heal from months of amped-up speech and policies targeting their identities.
“I pray that it is a really joyful, inspiring gathering where people feel safe, where they feel seen, where they feel supported, where they can laugh and learn,” Budde said about Pride in an interview with USA Today published Monday. “Maybe it is a good antidote to some of the meaner rhetoric that has been unnecessarily hurtful. And just be a balm for people. We all need that.”
Budde, the Episcopal leader for the Washington area, made national headlines when she used a prayer service following Trump’s inauguration to make a direct plea to the president — who sat in the first pew of the National Cathedral with first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance — on behalf of “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,” Budde said during the service. She said most immigrants, even those without proper documentation, were good neighbors, and the vast majority are “not criminals.”
She told ABC’s “The View” in the days following her sermon that she would welcome a one-on-one conversation with Trump but would not apologize, as he demanded in a lengthy post on Truth Social.
“I am not going to apologize for asking for mercy for others,” Budde said.
Since returning to office in January, Trump has signed several executive orders directly targeting transgender Americans, including one he issued on his first day declaring that the U.S. recognizes only two unchangeable sexes, male and female, and prohibiting spending on “gender ideology.” Other orders aim to bar transgender people from serving openly in the military, end federal support for gender-affirming care for minors and ban transgender girls from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week that Trump has “no plans” to issue a proclamation recognizing Pride Month this year.
Budde told USA Today that Pride and its message of community and acceptance carries an “urgency” with it this year.
“It feels as if there are some values, some accomplishments, some strides that are being called into question, and a fairly aggressive effort on the part of many to take away some of the things that have been so hard fought for,” she said. “It’s both a time of celebration and a reminder that this is who we are, and these are our beloved and this is who we stand with.”
“There seems to be a lot to be gained by keeping us divided and to project really false statements onto whole groups of people. That has not stopped, which is just worrisome and a bit heartbreaking,” Budde said. “This is not, for me, a partisan thing. But I do want to constantly stand for and remind people of the values that are bedrock to me as a person of faith, but also to our country and to emphasize that we have far more in common with one another than we differ.”
