Bishop who asked Trump to ‘have mercy’ not removed. That’s satire | Fact check
The claim: Bishop Mariann Budde removed from role at Washington National Cathedral
A Jan. 25 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) claims a pastor who spoke at the inauguration prayer service for President Donald Trump was dismissed from her post.
“Bishop Mariann Budd (sic) has been removed from the National Cathedral by the Episcopal Archdiocese of Washington,” reads the post.
Some commenters appeared to believe the post was sharing legitimate news.
“Well deserved! She must be taken out of the church,” reads one comment.
It was liked more than 100 times in six days. Similar posts were shared on Facebook, Threads and X.
More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page
Our rating: Satire
The claim originated with a satirical Facebook account, and its logo remained on the picture. Bishop Mariann Budde remains listed as bishop on the Washington National Cathedral website, and the Episcopal Church has issued a statement supporting her.
Budde remains bishop at Washington National Cathedral
Budde made “one final plea” to Trump during her sermon at the prayer service the day after his inauguration, urging him to be merciful toward immigrants and transgender children.
“I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now," Budde said, speaking at Washington National Cathedral as Trump and Vice President JD Vance watched with their families.
In response, Trump took to social media to demand a public apology, calling Budde a "Radical Left hard line Trump hater" who "brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way."
However, the Instagram post’s claim that Budde was removed from her position at the cathedral because of her comments toward Trump is false.
Fact check: Bishop who asked Trump to 'have mercy' is in Episcopal, not Catholic, church
The claim originated with a Jan. 23 Facebook post from America's Last Line of Defense. The account’s intro says, “Nothing on this page is real.” The image in the post has a label in the lower-left corner that says it is satire.
Budde is still listed as bishop on the Washington National Cathedral website’s leadership page, and nothing similar to the claim is mentioned in any recent statements. No credible news reports support the post’s claim that she has been removed.
In a statement released after her sermon, the Episcopal Church said it supported Budde: “We stand by Bishop Budde and her appeal for the Christian values of mercy and compassion,” according to the Episcopal News Service.
Paste BN reached out to reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Reuters also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources
- America’s Last Line of Defense, Jan. 23, Facebook post
- America’s Last Line of Defense, accessed Jan. 31, Facebook profile
- Washington National Cathedral, accessed Jan. 31, Leadership
- Episcopal News Service, Jan. 22, As Trump demands apology, Washington bishop explains her call for mercy toward those living in fear
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.
Paste BN is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta.