Fox News has gone all-in on attacking Right Rev. Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop who delivered the national prayer service at National Cathedral on Tuesday and called for compassion for LGBTQ+ people and migrants.
In her sermon, Budde asked Trump to “have mercy.” Trump panned the event as “not too exciting.” He later posted an angrier complaint on his Truth Social Platform, writing, “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.”
Fox News echoed Trump’s invective throughout its broadcast day, targeting Budde for her views and her physical appearance.
“Fox and Friends” host Lawrence Jones exclaimed “Oh my God!” after a clip of Budde’s speech was aired. “As someone who comes from generations of preachers, I would have walked out,” he added.
Jones said it was not an “appropriate” time for Budde to speak out and that she should have done so in private.
His co-host Ainsley Earhardt worried that “there are children there that are hearing this message,” apparently concerned that children might hear something about “mercy” toward others in a church—something frequently associated with Jesus Christ and Christianity.
Also on the panel, host Steve Doocy suggested that the sermon was a sign that the president and other Washington officials should stop attending services at National Cathedral.
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On “Outnumbered,” host (and former Trump press secretary) Kayleigh McEnany complained that Budde was “preaching politics from the pulpit” (something Fox News has encouraged for decades with conservative policy).
Her co-host Harris Faulkner suggested that rhetoric like Budde’s reflected poorly on the Episcopalian church’s decision to allow women to serve as clergy.
“It was so awkward not to have a faith-filled, forward-looking positive message at a time when we know the numbers of people going to church are falling again,” Faulkner lamented.
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Panelist Gerri Willis said the message was evidence that Protestantism has “gone woke.”
“There seems to be such an emphasis on the issues of wokeism, whether it’s helping people of different race or different sexual persuasion or whatever, instead of focusing on The Word,” Willis added.
Summarizing the panel’s take on the event Faulkner said, “If you believe in the Lord, that was offensive.”
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“The Five” co-host Jeanine Pirro labeled Budde as a “woke bishop” and “nasty clergywoman,” and accused her of “hijacking” the service.
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In prime time, host Laura Ingraham kept the insults flying, calling Budde a “Peter Pan lookalike” and referring to her as a “warrior-princess waif.”
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Her fellow prime-time host and infamous misogynist Jesse Watters called Budde the Democratic Party’s “new Avenger.” He then asked, “Would the bishop show mercy if someone showed up to her church service, cut the line at Communion, guzzled the blood of Christ, flipped over the body of Christ, and then snatched all the cash from the offering plate?”
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Despite the attacks from the sitting president and his cheerleaders at the right-wing cable news channel, Budde remained unbowed.
“I don’t hate the president, and I pray for him,” Budde told NPR. “I don’t feel there’s a need to apologize for a request for mercy.”
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