Bishop against Trump
Will President Trump really deport millions of people from the USA by force?
In his presence, the Protestant Bishop of Washington, Mariann Edgar Budde, warned him against doing so in the name of Christian charity, saying: ‘In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy on the people in our country who are now frightened. There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in democratic, republican and independent families, some of whom fear for their lives. The people who bring in our crops; who work in poultry farms and meatpacking plants; who wash the dishes after we eat at restaurants and who work the night shift in hospitals: they may be undocumented or may not have the proper documentation.
But the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbours. They are loyal members of our churches and mosques, synagogues , gurudwaras and temples. I ask you, Mr President, to have mercy on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away from them. And that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own countries to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us to have mercy on the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land.’
Trump responded on his online platform Social Truth: ‘The so-called bishop… was a radical leftist and a hard-line Trump hater. She brought her church into the world of politics in a very undignified way. Her tone was nasty and neither convincing nor clever. She failed to mention the large number of illegal immigrants who came to our country and killed people. Many were released from prisons and mental institutions. It is a huge crime wave that is happening in the United States. Apart from her inappropriate statements, the service was very boring and uninspiring. She is not very good at her job! She and her church owe the public an apology!’ (Both quotes from the TAZ on 23 January 2025).
The bishop is in good company with her warning against right-wing extremists. Pope Francis already warned against this in Trump’s first term in office and denied that he was a Christian. The German bishops of both denominations say that Christians cannot in good conscience vote for the AfD. Will the firewall against the xenophobia and inhumanity of the right-wing nationalists hold? In the USA, fundamentalist Christians largely voted for Trump, just as in Russia, Orthodox Christians support the warmonger Putin.
This makes it all the more important that the courage of the Washington bishop inspires many Christians and non-Christians. Humanitarianism is love in action.
