The sudden turn of JD Vance’s head told it all as an Episcopalian bishop preached about grace for gay and transgender children as the nation’s leaders listened.
The new vice president turned to his wife Usha, just as Marianne Budde, the left-wing Episcopal bishop of Washington, uttered the sentence after saying that children were “fearing for their lives” because of his return to power and joining the leadership urged to show ‘mercy’.
Second lady Usha looked straight ahead without engaging in conversation with her husband, while online MAGA allies offered their own responses to the video. It was clear to many of Vance’s allies that he had a visceral reaction to the comments.
“JD is all listening to that woke joke sermon,” Trump ally Benny Johnson wrote on X, in a post that was viewed half a million times.
‘JD’s face says it all…’are you hearing this nonsense?’ wrote the MAGA-aligned Crazy Vibes account.
Also take a look at Trump daughter Tiffany Trump. Others, including first lady Melania Trump and Donald Trump Jr., sat expressionless as Bishop Budde spoke. It came a day after Trump signed an executive order declaring there are two genders and declaring a state of emergency at the border ahead of a promised immigration crackdown — just part of the series of executive orders he is using to try to transform the government.
Vice President JD Vance suddenly turned to his wife Usha as Washington’s Episcopal bishop called for ‘mercy’ for illegal immigrants
Budde was also a Trump critic during the George Floyd protests and spoke at the memorial service for Senator John McCain, an enemy of Trump.
DailyMail.com contacted the bishop and Vance’s office to inquire about the sermon.
But Trump delivered his own review after a brief comment after returning to the White House when asked what he thought of the service.
“What did you think?” Trump responded. ‘Did you find it exciting?’ he asked.
“Not that exciting,” he replied, offering his own thoughts.
One of Trump’s most prominent faith allies, Franklin Graham, the son of the Rev. Billy Graham.
Wrote Newsmax host Todd Starnes X‘Franklin Graham says on my podcast that the National Cathedral has fallen into the hands of LGBT activists. So it’s no surprise that this “female bishop” expressed hatred toward Donald Trump today. The National Cathedral has become a shrine of Satan.”

Vance and the Trump family looked on during the sermon. Trump then gave his own review
Trump sat stony-faced in the front row, next to First Lady Melania Trump, as the prelate told him that illegal immigrants were not criminals and that he should not deport people with children.
Bishop Budde, 65, addressed Trump directly in a highly political speech from the pulpit during a traditional inaugural prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral.
She told Trump, “I ask you to have compassion for the people in our country who are afraid right now. There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and Independent homes, some of whom fear for their lives.”
The liberal pastor then asked Trump for mercy for illegal immigrants.
She said: “The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who work on poultry farms and meatpacking plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants, and who work night shifts in hospitals, they may not be citizens. or have the correct documentation.
“The vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. I ask you to have compassion, Mr. President, for those in communities whose children fear their parents will be taken away.”
Trump maintained his composure and appeared somewhat weary after a full day and night of inauguration festivities.
But some other members of the congregation seemed uncomfortable as they listened to the bishop’s tirade.

US President Donald Trump stands next to Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde as he attends the National Day of Prayer at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, US, January 21, 2025.

Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde speaks as US President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania and US Vice President JD Vance attend the National Day of Prayer with Second Lady Usha
Despite the awkward silence in the cathedral, Bishop Budde continued her stunning pro-migrant diatribe against the president.
She added, “Our God teaches us to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in a strange land.”
Trump later declined to publicly criticize the bishop over the attack.
Asked about the service by reporters at the White House, Trump said: “What did you think of it, did you like it? Did you find it exciting? It wasn’t that exciting. I think it’s a great service.’
However, Republicans and MAGA supporters have eviscerated the bishop.
“The person preaching this sermon should be added to the deportation list,” Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) wrote on social media.

President Donald Trump attends the national prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral, Tuesday, January 21, 2025 in Washington

S-President Donald Trump (front) and US First Lady Melania Trump (CL) with US Vice President JD Vance (2-R) and Second Lady Usha Vance (R) attend the National Prayer Service at the Washington National Cathedral , in Washington, DC, USA, January 21, 2025
Budde defends left-wing causes through her ministry.
On her diocesan website, she prides herself on being “an advocate and organizer in support of justice issues, including racial equality, gun violence prevention, immigration reform, the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ people, and the care of creation.”
She also has a long history of criticizing President Trump during his first term.

President Donald Trump (L) speaks with US Vice President JD Vance (R) during the National Prayer Service at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC, US, January 21, 2025

President Donald Trump, from left, looks on as the Rev. Mariann Budde arrives at the national prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington
That included after he stood next to an Episcopal church with a Bible in his hand after chasing protesters away from Lafayette Square near the White House during the Black Lives Matter protests.
At the time, she said that Trump’s actions were “contrary to the teachings of Jesus and everything we stand for as a church.”
She also condemned Trump when he attended an outdoor Black Lives Matter protest in 2020, wearing a mask during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I have given up talking to President Trump. We must replace President Trump,” she said at the time.