US President: Trump listens to what the bishop says with a stony face

t-online US President: Trump listens to what the bishop says with a stony face Christoph Cöln • 3 hours • 5 minutes reading time Unusual criticism Donald Trump and his wife Melania in the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. The day after his swearing-in, Donald Trump sits in a church service. What he hears there leaves him speechless. Afterwards, he speaks clearly. Donald Trump sat in the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. with a stony face on Tuesday morning and listened to the sermon by Bishop Mariann E. Budde. The clergywoman stood on the pulpit, a few meters in front of him, and turned to the newly inaugurated president once again at the end of her speech. "Let me make one final request, Mr. President," said Budde, looking directly at Trump. "Millions of people have trusted you, and as you yourself said yesterday before the whole nation, you sense the providence of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy on the people of our country. People, many of whom are now afraid. There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in families of Democrats, Republicans and independents, some of whom fear for their lives." This obviously did not excite the 78-year-old. Trump's facial features froze, as can be seen on a video. In the row behind him is his niece Lara Trump, who seems aghast at the bishop's appeal for tolerance and twists the corners of her mouth into a mocking smile. One row behind him sits Trump's son Donald Jr. He turns to the person sitting next to him and whispers something in his ear. Bishop: "The majority of immigrants are not criminals" But Budde was not finished yet. She reported on the impact that Trump's avalanche of decrees has on the daily lives of many Americans. "And the people who harvest our crops and clean our office buildings," she continued. "They may not have American citizenship, they may not have the right papers, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors, they are loyal members of our churches, mosques and synagogues." Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde addressed Trump personally in her sermon. After his swearing-in, Trump ordered that United States policy should henceforth be based on the assumption that there are only two genders: male and female. The Republican has also signed various decrees to curb irregular migration. For example, he instructed the Department of Homeland Security to take all appropriate measures to deport migrants without the right to remain. This also includes the fact that the immigration authorities ICE will in future be allowed to take those affected into custody in or near so-called sensitive places, such as churches, schools or hospitals. Officials have actually been prohibited from doing this since 2011. The administration of the Democratic US President Joe Biden had expanded the regulation and further restricted the authority's powers. Bad mood on Team Trump. "Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America's schools and churches to avoid arrest," the US Department of Homeland Security has now announced. Trump's administration will not "tie the hands" of the officials and instead trusts that they will use "their common sense". Trump: "Could have done better" Bishop Budde apparently relied on common sense in her sermon, even in the presence of the 47th US President. That is why she called on Trump to "have mercy on those in our community whose children fear that their parents will be taken away from them" and on migrants who are "fleeing war zones and persecution in their home countries". He should please "respect the dignity of every human being", said the clergywoman. God teaches people to be merciful to strangers. But the appeal for more humanity did not go down well with the man in the White House. When a reporter asked him outside the church about his impression of the sermon, Trump replied: "Not too exciting, was it? I thought it really wasn't a good service, no." And to Bishop Budde: "She could have done much better." Resolutions, moments, congratulations: This is how Trump's first day in office went Republican Senator Bernie Moreno criticized the sermon much more harshly: "It is outrageous that a bishop is lecturing President Trump about the deportation of illegal immigrants. This is an insult to everyone who came to this country honestly." Moreno, who calls himself an "outsider" and "MAGA fighter," called the clergywoman "woke."