‘The View’ Hosts Laud Bishop Who Confronted Trump in Fawning Interview: ‘More Fearlessness Than Anyone In Congress!’

Hosts of The View were full of praise for Bishop Mariann Budde following her confronting President Donald Trump at the National Prayer Service this week.

Budde joined The View remotely on Wednesday and said her “final plea” to the president was about “unity.” Trump has since said Budde owes an apology to the public.

“I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” Budde told Trump from the pulpit. “There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives.”

Joy Behar kicked off Wednesday’s interview with Budde by first saying she has “more fearlessness than anyone in Congress right now.”

“What made you decide to use that opportunity for this message or did you have any apprehension about it?” Behar asked.

Budde said her message was in the name of “unity.”

She said:

My responsibility that morning, yesterday morning was to reflect, to pray with the nation for unity. And and as I was pondering, what what are the foundations of unity? I you know, I wanted to emphasize respecting the honor and dignity of every human being. Basic honesty and humility. And then I also realized that in that that unity requires a certain degree of mercy, mercy and compassion and understanding. And and so knowing that a lot of people, as I said in our country right now, are really scared. I wanted to take the opportunity in the context of that of service for unity to say we we need to treat everyone with dignity. And we need to be merciful.

Ana Navarro called Budde “gentle” and “respectful” in the way she directly addressed Trump.

“You were so gentle. You were so respectful. You were very demure and very mindful,” she said.

Sara Haines told Budde she managed to “strike a nerve” with Trump, noting his Truth Social post calling Budde’s speech “nasty.”

“It doesn’t seem surprising that you would speak out for the marginalized, as anyone who’s read the Bible and knows the path of Jesus. But do you think your message is being misconstrued and politicized?” she asked.

“How could it not be politicized? We’re in a hyper political climate,” Budde said. “One of the things I caution about is the culture of contempt in which we live. That immediately rushes to the worst possible interpretations of what people are saying and to put them in categories such as the ones you’ve just described.”

Sunny Hostin asked about churches no longer be viewed as “sanctuaries” amid Trump’s “immigration crackdown,” while Alyssa Farah Griffin offered one slightly critical question, asking Budde if her message would have been better served if it was delivered privately to Trump.

Budde said she would welcome a one-on-one with the president, but she has not had the opportunity.

“I would welcome that opportunity. I have no idea how that would go. I can assure him and everyone listening that I would be as respectful as I would with any with any person and certainly of his office, for which I have a great deal of respect,” she said.

Behar signed off with Budde by thanking her for showing people “what empathy looks like.”

“Thank you,” she said. “Thank you so much for showing people what empathy looks like.”

Watch above via ABC.