The reverend at the National Cathedral prayer service for the inauguration called on President Trump to have mercy on transgender children and immigrant families in her sermon on Tuesday.
Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde said to Trump, who was sitting in the first pew, that millions of Americans have “put their trust in you” before making her plea to the president.
“I ask you, to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared. There are gay, lesbian, transgender children, Democratic, Republican, independent families — some who fear for their lives,” she said.
She added, “the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor 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.”
She outlined that those workers “pay taxes” and are “faithful members” of U.S. churches, mosques, synagogues and temples, arguing that their children “fear their parents are going to be taken away.”
Additionally, she called on Trump to aid people fleeing war zones and persecution.
“Find compassion,” she said.
The president was later asked what he thought of the service and told reporters he found it “not too exciting.”
“I did think it was a good service. They could do much better,” Trump added.
During the sermon, Trump sat alongside first lady Melania Trump, Vice President Vance and second lady Usha Vance, with his children sitting near him.
The sermon comes the morning after Trump signed a flurry of executive orders, recognizing only two sexes, male and female, and restricting immigration to carry out his campaign promise to target migrants, especially those who have committed crimes in the U.S.
He signed an order effectively pausing refugee admissions for a minimum of three months, signed an order that seeks to boost detention capacity in the U.S. to house migrants and said he would end birthright citizenship for children born to people living illegally in the U.S.
