Near the end of her homily at the inaugural prayer service on Tuesday, Bishop Marian Edgar Bader took a breath and looked directly at President Trump.
“I ask you to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared right now,” said Bishop Bard, leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. “There are gay and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some of whom fear for their lives. “
Making a direct appeal to Trump at the start of his first day as president was a remarkable moment. Twenty-four hours after he took back the highest office in the land, called tech billionaires as witnesses and made a sweeping display of power by signing a series of executive orders, he was suddenly facing an extraordinary dissent from an unlikely member of the public. Usual acts of defiance.
“The vast majority of immigrants are not criminals,” Bishop Bader said. “Mr. President, I ask you to have mercy on those in our communities whose children fear their parents will be taken away, and to help those fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands find compassion and welcome here”.
Sitting in the first row of pews at the towering Washington National Cathedral, Trump lowered his head and then looked away. Vice President J.D. Vance raised his eyebrows and glanced several times at his wife, Usha Vance, who kept her eyes on the bishop. After Bishop Budd finished speaking, Trump said something to Vance, who shook his head in obvious annoyance. Members of the Trump family sitting directly behind them seemed to look at each other, visibly upset. Mr. Trump’s second son, Eric Trump, shook his head.
That’s not usually how people talk about Trump when he returns to the White House. Since winning the election, he has been courted by powerful business leaders and politicians, including many who kept their distance during his first term. Just the day before, he celebrated his return to office with an inauguration ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda, a rally surrounded by supporters and a series of inaugural balls. Even former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. greeted Mr. Trump at the White House by saying, “Welcome home.”
Bishop Bard’s comments came a day after Trump issued a series of executive orders targeting transgender rights and immigration.
When reporters asked him what he thought of the service, the president said: “I don’t think it’s a good service, no.”
Shortly after midnight, Trump stepped up his criticism in a post on The Truth Society, calling on Bishop Bard and her church to apologize, saying she had made inappropriate remarks.
“She has brought her church into the political world in a very disrespectful way,” Trump wrote. “Her tone was vile and neither compelling nor intelligent.”
In response to Bishop Bard’s remarks about immigration, Trump said without providing evidence that “large numbers” of immigrants came to the United States illegally and killed people.
Bishop Bader said in an interview that she decided to speak directly to the president because “I have seen and experienced fear among our people — people I know and love, both in immigrant communities and within the LGBTQ community, How scared so many people are.
She said she was concerned that some people now felt “the level of licensing was really cruel”.
“I’m not necessarily calling the president out. What I’m saying is, ‘This country has been entrusted to you,'” Bishop Budd said. “One of the qualities of a leader is kindness, right? Compassion. And be mindful of those who are afraid.
Bishop Bard is not the only prominent clergyman to call attention to the fears raised by Trump’s agenda. Pope Francis on Sunday called Trump’s plan for mass deportations a “disgrace.”
Trump began his presidency on Monday with executive actions aimed at turning his campaign rhetoric into real policy, including rescinding a Biden administration order aimed at preventing discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.
The government says Trump’s new order is intended to protect women from “gender ideological extremism” that allows biological males to invade their rights and privacy. The definition it proposes further defines “gender” more clearly.
The text said that under the order signed by Trump on Monday, male and female will be defined at “conception.” People who end up producing “large germ cells” will be considered female, the order said. Males would be defined as those who ultimately “produce small germ cells.”
The order also says the federal government will no longer recognize “gender identity,” but only “sex” as defined by “an individual’s immutable biological classification (male or female).”
The order also bans the use of federal funds to promote “gender ideology” through grants or other government programs, as well as the use of public funds for transition-related medical procedures in prisons.
The order effectively defines the existence of transgender Americans.
“At its core, this executive order is an extremely cruel effort to make transgender people alien to the law and force them back into the closet,” said Sarah Wobello, legal director at the Human Rights Campaign (Sarah Warbelow) said.
Trump also issued a number of immigration-related executive orders on Monday, suspending refugee admissions, severely restricting asylum for immigrants and making clear his intention to deploy the military to the southern border. However, the border has remained relatively calm after a record number of illegal crossings earlier in the Biden administration.
The Trump administration also rescinded a Biden policy that directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents not to make arrests in schools, places of worship and other places known as “sensitive locations.”
Throughout his campaign and during his first term, Trump frequently portrayed all immigrants who cross the border illegally as criminals. While sporadic crimes against immigrants have drawn national attention in recent years, homeland security officials themselves acknowledge that most people crossing the border are fleeing poverty or violence in search of a better life.
“Sometimes when he talks broadly about immigration, the image he paints seems to be that all immigrants who come into this country are dangerous,” Bishop Bader said. “I know that’s not true. It’s not true.
solemn Contributed reporting.
