At inaugural prayer service, bishop pleads for Trump to 'have mercy' on LGBTQ+ people and migrants

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

75% : Trump and Vice President JD Vance were in attendance with their families, along with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth.
74% : As the prayer service neared its end, Trump joined others in singing "America the Beautiful.
73% : The tenor sang "Ave Maria," a favorite song of Trump and one that Macchio sang at a Trump rally and the Republican National Convention.
65% : "The one part of Tuesday's service that seemed tailor-made for Trump was the inclusion of opera singer Christopher Macchio, who also sang the national anthem at the inauguration.
60% : Budde's sermon directed at Trump on Tuesday provoked a lively reaction on social media.
54% : When he returned to the White House, Trump was asked about the sermon.
46% : At the inaugural prayer service, the Right Rev. Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, made a direct appeal to President Trump, sitting feet away, to have mercy on the LGBTQ+ community and undocumented migrant workers.
37% : Budde said she was outraged in 2020 after Trump staged an appearance in front of St. John's Episcopal Church, which is near the White House.
33% : Austen Ivereigh, a biographer of Pope Francis, wrote on X that the bishop "named the truth" when she spoke to Trump and Vance.
30% : "Trump also thanked many of the clergy who participated as they processed past him -- except for Budde, whom he did not acknowledge.
24% : On Monday, Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of more than 1,500 people involved in the riot, including those convicted of violence against law enforcement officers.
18% : Budde, who gave this year's sermon, has joined other cathedral leaders in criticizing Trump previously, rebuking his "racialized rhetoric" and blaming him for inciting the deadly violence in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot by a mob of his supporters.

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