During Donald Trump’s inauguration, former President Joe Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and all the other Democratic statesmen did not know where to look when Trump vented the most far-reaching plans about how he would trash almost everything the previous administration had initiated. Right to their faces. At that moment, Trump probably did not realise he would soon receive the same treatment from woke Bishop Mariann Budde at the National Cathedral's traditional prayer service for the inauguration.

By Paul Cliteur
The day after his second inauguration as president, Bishop Budde addressed Trump and his entourage at the church service in Washington. She delivered the homily at the interfaith prayer traditionally held at the Washington National Cathedral after each presidential inauguration.

Budde (born 1959 or 1960) is an American prelate of the Episcopal Church and served as Bishop of Washington since November 2011. The Episcopal Church (TEC), officially the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA), is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion based in the United States.

The church was organised after the American Revolution. Then, it separated from the Church of England, whose clergy were required to swear allegiance to the British monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. It describes itself as “Protestant, yet Catholic.”

About three-quarters of the Declaration of Independence, signers were affiliated with the Episcopal Church, and a quarter of all United States presidents have been Episcopalians.

So, the Episcopalians have essential ties with politics. Still, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde held the speech in front of Donald Trump, and the company was not a bit political but political. And not in favour of Trump’s republican politics, but Budde seemed to embrace the Biden/Harris line.

She showcased herself during her speech as an advocate for woke politics, and all criticisms of Trump’s character and politics came along, albeit somewhat insinuating. Powerless, Trump and his entourage had to listen to a sharp breakdown of Trump’s political plans in which Budde assumed the pose of someone speaking “on behalf of God.”

The Episcopal Church had previously spoken out against the death penalty and had already been a supporter of the civil rights movement. But, and this is more sensitive with a president who still recognises only two genders, the church also calls for the full legal equality of LGBT people.

The seven most essential minutes from the cleric’s sermon are here.

Speaking on behalf of God
Budde did a great job - from a particular perspective. She presents herself as a “person of faith” and, by virtue of her position, therefore, as someone who speaks “on behalf of God.” Things get exciting when she starts talking about a “dangerous and worrisome way to lead a country” (0:42). Budde expresses the belief that “unity in this country is possible” (0:53).

As she speaks, the camera focuses on Trump with Melania next to her, J.D. Vance, and his wife. Judging by his body language, Vance is the first to realise this is going completely wrong. Melania still wants to nod to Trump, saying, “Come on, Donald, this is all in the game.”

The sacred traditions and texts of the United States of America
Let’s follow the line of Bishop’s sermon for a moment. Budde indicates a desire to focus on the ideals of the United States of America but interprets them against the background of her religious beliefs (1:09). Doesn’t the Declaration of Independence speak of “innate equality and dignity”? What are the “foundations of unity”? “Drawing from our sacred traditions and texts” (2:03), Budde arrives at three points.

One: “the inherent dignity of every human being.” Then it follows, according to Budde’s logic, “refusing to mock or discount” (2:36). We must, according to the cleric, “respect our differences” (2:46).

The second is “honesty” (3:08). The Camera shot of Trump and their entourage. As the bishop stands orating, we see their total disinterest, surprise, bewilderment, discomfort, annoyance, and carefully whispering among themselves. But the bishop continues undaunted. Budde: “A lot is working against the truth, now” (3:48).

Third is “humility” (4:18).

A woke activist in the garb of a cleric
Once again, the camera shot of Trump and his entourage: it is clear to everyone by now that there is a woke activist in the garb of a cleric ranting right before them. A political zealot à la Harris. A zealot to the detriment of Trump.

In Budde’s interpretation, all the virtues and central values of American culture’s “sacred traditions and texts” are precisely those in which Trump does not excel. Here stands an unknown bishop lecturing the newly elected American president.

“Millions have put their faith in you,” the bishop tells Trump, making a face like those people are wrong. She reminds Trump that during the inauguration, he felt “the providential hand of a loving God” (6:51), but the bishop thinks otherwise.

She goes “in the name of our God” to ask Trump if he would have mercy on the people who are now “afraid.” Afraid? Of what and of whom? There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children who fear for their lives, the bishop claims. And even the people working (“pick our crops”), the plate washers in restaurants, and who may not have acquired citizenship, most of those people are not criminals, Budde maintains Trump. After all, “Our God teaches us that we ought to be merciful to the stranger” (8:20). We were all once strangers in this country, weren’t we?

The bishop put it this way:

“I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared. There are gay, lesbian, transgender children, Democratic, Republican, independent families - some who fear for their lives.”

At the end of Bishop’s speech, Trump was asked what he thought of it. “Not too exciting,” the new president said of the sermon. It was not a good service, Trump said. In the evening, Trump continued to spew his bile about what came to be known as the “woke bishop.”

Douglas Murray called the woke bishop’s speech “completely disgraceful.” According to Murray, the bishop had not spoken about God but only about “boring left-wing talking points.” Murray viewed the woke bishop’s speech as a perfect illustration of what had gone wrong with the church, not just the Episcopalian church.

Murray complained that now, there was an opportunity to say something inspiring about religion and God. But what does the “barmy bishop” do? She starts putting up activist leftist talking points that you can hear everywhere. She gets a few days of attention now but must quickly sink back into the “political oblivion from which she came.”

An error in the protocol
Of course, Murray is absolutely right. But one thing should not be forgotten. Budde’s programming was, of course, a colossal mistake. In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump called Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde’s remarks “nasty.”

He followed with, “The so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a Radical Left hard-line Trump hater. She brought her church into the World of politics very ungraciously. She was nasty in tone and not compelling or smart.”

Trump also entered a political discussion with the bishop that he could not have had in the church. Trump wrote: “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,” the president said. “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.”

The latter was not entirely true. Her speech was certainly not dull. It was a farcical display, but, entirely unintentionally, the combination of Trump’s more or less forced presence at the sermon against him produced hilarious material. There was more tension in this church service than in many others.

“She is not very good at her job! She and her church owe the public an apology!” Trump declared. But that is a gross exaggeration. Trump should have paid better attention. He is a bad loser. This lady is indeed a woke activist from the left. But he should never have allowed her sermon in his presence.

Trump accepted a massive risk by hosting a church service with an unknown bishop. Trump himself has said he is experiencing “the providential hand of a loving God,” but what that hand of a providential God means is what a self-appointed class of interpreters of that God’s will is about. He has given Budde the opportunity through the gospel and an appeal to sacred traditions to engage in left-wing woke politics right under his nose and, thus, the world’s nose.

It will be the last time Budde gets to play this role. Let’s hope the Americans learn from it. What is the lesson? The lesson is: never give a bishop or another cleric a central role in the inauguration of a new president. Stop bullshitting about “the providential hand of a loving God.” Then you also need a self-appointed interpreter of that will.

Base yourself on the US Constitution or the US Declaration of Independence, not on “sacred traditions and texts” (2:03), because then you will only end up with fantasising woke activists who will lecture the newly inaugurated president. Realise a complete separation of church and state. Or take your constitution seriously.

After all, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion (...).” No “establishment of religion,” in other words. That is, no state church. American citizens can attend church, but the state will not embrace a particular religion.

By sending presidents to a service addressed by a bishop of The Episcopal Church (TEC), the state is violating the First Amendment to the Constitution and, thus, the Constitution itself.  So, stop that practice of church attendance. Then you can’t be surprised by a virtuous, politically correct bishop, either.