The Bishop of Washington issued a ‘plea’ to Donald Trump to show ‘mercy’ to LGBTQ+ people and migrants.
Within just 24 hours into his presidency as the 72nd President of the United States, Donald Trump wasted no time signing off on multiple executive orders, including a policy stating there are ‘only two genders’ alongside many orders blocking migrants from being able to enter – and remain in – the country.
During a service held on January 21 at the Washington National Cathedral following Trump’s inauguration, Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde asked the new president to show ‘mercy’ to LGBTQ+ people and migrants.
The bishop’s ‘plea’
Making ‘one final plea,’ Right Rev. Budde said: “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.
“I 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.”
Trump’s response
Budde resolved by asking Trump once more to ‘have mercy on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away’ and for the president to ‘help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here’.
After the service, Trump branded it ‘not too exciting’ and he ‘didn’t think it was a good service,’ concluding: “They could do much better.”
The executive orders
Within the 25 executive orders listed on the White House website during the first 24 hours of Trump’s inauguration, the president signed off on an official policy ‘restoring biological truth to the federal government’
The policy recognizes ‘two sexes, male and female’ and states them as not being ‘changeable’ but ‘grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality’. It goes on to state federal agents are ordered to ‘enforce laws governing sex-based rights, protections, opportunities, and accommodations to protect men and women as biologically distinct sexes’, removing ‘all statements, policies, regulations, forms, communications, or other internal and external messages that promote or otherwise inculcate gender ideology, and shall cease issuing such statements, policies, regulations, forms, communications or other messages’.
Multiple other executive orders address how the country treats migrants and what it means to qualify as an American citizen, orders limiting birthright citizenship and ‘securing’ borders. It also includes ‘protecting American people’ against ‘millions of illegal aliens’ crossing the borders, alongside ‘protecting the US from foreign terrorists’ and ‘protecting the territorial integrity’ of the US.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT national hotline at 888-843-4564, available Monday to Friday 4pm-12am ET and 12pm-5pm ET on Saturdays.
