Bishop who made LGBTQ+ plea to Trump during controversial service breaks silence with new message

The Bishop of Washington, who made a plea to president Donald Trump during a National Prayer Service in January, has broken her silence online.

Speaking on 21 January - just a day after Trump's inauguration - Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde addressed comments previously made by Trump about there being 'only two genders'.

Bishop Budde implored both the US leader and his VP, JD Vance, to their faces: "Mr President, millions have put their trust in you, and as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God.

"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.

"And the people, the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labour in 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."

The message didn't go down well with the president, with Trump branding her both 'not compelling or smart' and claiming she 'owe[s] the public an apology'.

Breaking her silence over what happened - and the huge controversy that followed - Bishop Budde took to Instagram on Tuesday (25 February) where she shared a video message.

She explained: "I stepped out of social media for some time, but I wanted to step back in to say thank you, I cannot tell you how much it's meant to me to receive the letters and phone calls and notes and gifts and expressions of gratitude, support and encouragement.

"I am persuaded that there is a spirit of love and goodness in this land that flows through all of us and that now is a time for us to stand together to take courage from one another and learn together how we are to be brave now and to hold onto the things that are good about us and about our country.

"We can do this, especially if we remember we are never alone... Together, God will work through us to bring about the kind of society, the kind of community we all deserve and that we want to pass on to those who come after us.

"Take good care, have courage and remember that together, we can all be brave."

At the time, Trump addressed Bishop Budde on his Truth Social Platform calling her a 'Trump hater'

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

"She brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way. She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart.

"She failed to mention the large number of illegal migrants that came into our Country and killed people. Many were deposited from jails and mental institutions.

"It is a giant crime wave that is taking place in the USA.

"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!"

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT Foundation on 0345 3 30 30 30, 10am–6pm Monday to Friday, or email [email protected], or Mindline Trans+ on 0300 330 5468 - this line is open 8pm–midnight Mondays and Fridays and is run by trans volunteers.