Bishop Mariann Budde breaks silence after challenging Donald Trump during prayer service

Bishop Mariann Budde reveals why she had to challenge Trump during prayer serviceSource: CNN

Transcript

00:00I was. I was looking at the President because I was speaking directly to him.

00:06I was also, frankly, as you do in every sermon, speaking to everyone who was listening

00:12through that one-on-one conversation with the President,

00:16reminding us all that the people that are frightened in our country,

00:21the two groups of people that I mentioned, are our fellow human beings

00:26and that they have been portrayed all throughout the political campaign

00:31in the harshest of lights that I wanted to counter as gently as I could

00:41with a reminder of their humanity and their place in our wider community.

00:47And I was speaking to the President because I felt that he has this moment now

00:53where he feels charged and empowered to do what he feels called to do.

00:58And I wanted to say, you know, there is room for mercy.

01:03There's room for a broader compassion.

01:06We don't need to portray with a broad cloth in the harshest of terms

01:13some of the most vulnerable people in our society who are, in fact, our neighbors,

01:18our friends, our children, our friends' children, and so forth.