President Donald Trump, from left, watches as Rev. Mariann Budde arrives at the national prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) President Donald Trump,

The Episcopal bishop of Washington spoke with NPR to discuss her sermon addressing President Trump and why she asked him to have mercy.

Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, a bishop at Washington National Cathedral, made a plea to President Donald Trump during her sermon on Tuesday.

Bishop Budde, at the inaugural service, had directly appealed to US President Donald Trump to ‘have mercy’ on the LGBTQ community and migrant workers.

She also addressed Trump directly while he sat with his wife and the newly appointed vice president, wearing a red tie in the pew next to them.

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

President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and their families were in attendance at the prayer service on Tuesday.

Mariann Budde, 65, is the Episcopalian bishop who confronted Trump during the National Prayer Service. Trump and Vice President JD Vance were in attendance as part of their first full day in the Oval Office.

The people who are in danger are the people who fear for their lives and their livelihoods,’ Budde said in an interview. ‘That’s where the focus should be.’

Bishop Budde locked eyes with President Trump and made a plea for mercy — and the war over spiritual authority in America was ignited anew.

The Episcopal bishop of Washington spoke with NPR to discuss her sermon addressing President Trump and why she asked him to have mercy.