Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde says she’s been receiving what seem to be death threats after she called on President Trump to “have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now” during an inaugural prayer service at the National Cathedral.
“I’ve had people wish me dead. I’m not sure they’ve directly threatened to kill me, but they sure seem pleased if I meet my end sooner rather than later,” the Episcopal bishop told MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show on Wednesday.
She explained that her intention was to foster a more respectful conversation, saying, “I was actually trying to encourage a different kind of conversation. You can disagree with me, you can disagree with what I’ve said or done, but could we, as Americans and fellow children of God, speak to one another with respect? I would offer the same to you.”
Budde also asked those who don’t agree with her to treat her with respect. “I would listen to your views and honor them, but we don’t have to go to the highest extremes of contempt when we’re in disagreement,” she said. “If we could get that back as a country, we’d go a long way in being able to work together on the many problems we face.”
Despite the backlash over her call for Trump to show mercy to migrants and LGBTQ children, Budde has refused to apologize to Trump or to other Republican critics who felt her comments were inappropriate.
“I’m not going to apologize for asking for mercy for others,” Budde, 65, told Time on Wednesday. She echoed the same sentiment in an interview with NPR, saying, “I don’t feel there’s a need to apologize.”
Trump criticized Budde after the service, saying her remarks could have been better and ramping up his criticism hours later.
“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 in a very ungracious way,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that her service was “uninspiring” and “nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart.”
Watch the video below from MSNBC.
