Mariann Edgar Budde: 'The President did not pray when he came to St John's', Remarks to CNN about Bible photo shoot - 2020

Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde called into CNN to talk about Trump's photo op. Listen to this. pic.twitter.com/i2G0nS4Xxf

— John Whitehouse (@existentialfish) June 2, 2020

2 June 2020, Washington DC, USA

I want to thank you for allowing me on here, to be part of this conversation
Let me just be clear,
The president just used a bible, the most sacred text of the Judaea Christian tradition, in one of the churches of my diocese, without permission, as a backdrop to a message antithetical to the teachings of Jesus, everything that our churches stand for.
And to do so, as you just said, he sanmctioned the use of tear gas by police officers in riot gear, to clear the church yard.
I am outraged.
The President did not pray when he came to St John’s.
Nor did he acknowledge the agony of our country right now.
And in particular, that of the people of colour in our nation, who wonder if anyone ever … if anyone in power will ever acknowledge their sacred work, and who are rightfully demanding an end to four hundred years of systemic racism and white supremacy in our nation.
And I just want the world to know, that we in the diocese of Washington, following Jesus and his way of love, do not … we distance ourselves from the incendiary language of this president.
We follow someone who lived a life of non violence and sacrificial love.
We align ourselves with those seeking justice for the death of George Floyd and countless others who died performing the sacred act of peaceful protest, and I just can’t believe what my eyes have seen tonight.

Bishop Budde later appeared on PBS to further explain her position.

Anderson Cooper: 'Not racial, not racially charged, racist', response to Trump's Haiti remarks

11 January 2018, CNN Studios, New York City, USA

Before we go tonight, I just want to take a moment to talk about Haiti, one of the place the president of United States referred to today as a shithole country. I was taught math in high school by a Haitian immigrant name Yves Volel who work hard, who dedicate themselves to teaching kids of America. He ultimately returned to his country in Haiti and was assassinated while running for president.

I spend a lot of time in Haiti, I first went there in the early 1990s, as a young reporter. In 2010, my team from CNN was the first international team of journalists on the ground after the earthquake struck. I spent more than a month there and have return many times on assignment and on vacation. Like all countries, Haiti is a collection of people, it's rich and poor, well-educated, not good and bad many. But I've never met a Haitian who isn't strong. You have to be to survive in a place where the government has often abandoned this people, where opportunities are few and where mother nature has punished the people far more than anyone should ever be published.

But let me be clear tonight, the people of Haiti have been through more, they've been through more, they've with stood more, they fought back against more injustice than our president ever has.

Tomorrow marks exactly eight years since the earthquake struck Haiti, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake killed between 220,000 and 300,000 people. The actual numbers will never be known, because they were buried in unmarked pits. One and a half million people were displaced. For days and weeks without help from their own government or police, the people of Haiti dug through rubble with their bare and bloodied hands to save complete strangers. Guided only by the cries of the wounded and the dying. I was there when a young girl name Bee (ph) who'd been trapped in rubble for nearly a day was rescued by people who had no heavy equipment, they just had their God given strength and their determination and their courage.

I was there when a 5-year-old boy name Mangly (ph) was rescued after being buried for more than seven days. Do you know what strength it takes to survive on rainwater buried under concrete, a 5-year-old boy buried for seven days. Haitians slap your hand hard when they shake it, they look you in the eye. They don't blink, they stand tall and they have a dignity. It's a dignity many in this White House could learn from. It's a dignity the president with all his money and all his power could learn from as well.

On the anniversary of the earthquake, on this day, when this president has said what he's said about Haitians, we hope the people on Haiti who are listening tonight, and (INAUDIBLE) L.A. and Miami and elsewhere, we hope they know that our thoughts are with them and our love is with them as well.