President Trump has issued a brutal five-word response to a bishop who asked him to "have mercy" on LGBTQ+ people and migrants.
Just 24 hours into Trump’s presidency as the 47th President of the United States, controversy erupted following a service at the Washington National Cathedral.
On January 21, Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop of Washington, stood before the congregation and addressed the newly sworn-in president.
Watch the moment below:She issued a heartfelt plea during the event, urging the 78-year-old to show “mercy” to LGBTQ+ individuals and migrants.
“Millions have put their trust in you, and as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God," she began. "In 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," she said. “I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear their parents will be taken away, and that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here."
Budde continued: “The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meatpacking 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.
"They pay taxes and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues, gurdwara, and temples,” she added.
Trump, who was sat in the front pew next to First Lady Melania Trump and Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance, watched Budde's service with a blank, awkward, expression.
Meanwhile, Vance could be seen raising his eyebrows and turning to his wife to get a reaction but she didn’t budge.
The two-time present shared his blunt opinion after the service. He dismissed the event as “not too exciting” and added: “They could do much better,” AP News reported.
He shared more of his unfiltered thoughts on his platform, Truth Social, 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.
"She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart. 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," he continued.
"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. She is not very good at her job! She and her church owe the public an apology!" he concluded.
Trump’s dismissal of the bishop’s plea came amid a whirlwind of executive orders he signed within his first 24 hours in office.
Among them was a policy described as “restoring biological truth to the federal government,” which declared there are “only two genders,” deemed immutable and grounded in reality.
The policy stated: "Each agency and all Federal employees shall enforce laws governing sex-based rights, protections, opportunities, and accommodations to protect men and women as biologically distinct sexes.
"Agencies shall remove 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.
"Agency forms that require an individual’s sex shall list male or female, and shall not request gender identity. Agencies shall take all necessary steps, as permitted by law, to end the Federal funding of gender ideology," the policy includes.
Other executive orders targeted immigration, including tightening border security, limiting birthright citizenship, and redefining what it means to be an American citizen.
The measures, according to the White House website, aimed to “protect the American people from the disastrous effects of unlawful mass migration and resettlement".