A lot can happen in a week and in the Trump administration, a whole lot can happen.
The president hit the ground running following last week’s inauguration, issuing pardons to Jan. 6 rioters, firing 18 inspectors general and shuttering DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) offices.
But before leaving to survey the damage from the California fires, Trump received a plea for compassion at the National Prayer Service.
From the pulpit inside Washington National Cathedral, Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde asked Trump to have mercy for the most vulnerable.
“In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now,” Budde said. “There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and Independent families – some who fear for their lives.
“And 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 shift in hospitals – they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals.”
Trump was not moved and called the bishop’s plea “very ungracious,” “nasty in tone” and “not compelling or smart.” The president also demanded an apology.
Budde told Time Magazine that she would not apologize for asking for mercy for others.