Bishop Mariann Budde explains why she publicly confronted Donald Trump

Bishop Marianne Budde has defended pleading with Donald Trump to show mercy on vulnerable people in the United States after he was sworn in as the 47th president.

The religious leader, 65, spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday (21 January) at the National Cathedral in Washington, publicly asking the president to have mercy on LGBT+ children and to understand that immigrants are not all criminals and that many are afraid of what he might do to them.

One of Trump's first acts was to issue an executive order declaring that only two genders exist.

Budde told The View: "I was trying to counter the narrative that is so divisive and polarising."