The Media Research Center loves it when right-wing ministers attack liberal politicians — its former “news” operation CNSNews.com particularly loved parroting Franklin Graham’s anti-liberal missives — but it gets outraged when non-right-wing ministers offer critiques of right-wing politicians. Thus, when Episcopal bishop Mariann Budde used a prayer service to call out President Trump’s lack of compassion toward people who aren’t good little Trumpbots, the MRC voiced its outrage — and, particularly, that late-night TV hosts supported her. Comedy cop Alex Christy groused in a Jan. 22 post:
During his Tuesday show, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel cheered on the woke, progressive Episcopal bishop who admonished President Donald Trump to go soft on illegal immigration and liberal social issues at an interfaith prayer service at the National Cathedral. Kimmel found a new desire that leaders follow the Bible and said of Bishop Mariann Budde’s performance, “That is the best; good for her.”
Kimmel set up a clip of Budde by declaring, “Trump only likes mass when it’s followed by the word ‘deportation.’ That is a fact. The reason he was upset, the reason he didn’t say the Lord’s Prayer, is because the bishop who gave the sermon forgot to put on her MAGA hat.”
Christy complained that Kimmel aired a “jump cut-ridden clip” of Budde, going on to whine:
There’s a lot to unpack there. It’s kind of insulting to suggest Trump is a threat to children’s lives or that immigration enforcement is somehow unbiblical, and that is before we get to the heretical idea that it is Christ-like to confuse children on their gender.
Nevertheless, Kimmel, who loves mocking the Nativity Story, was a big fan as he sarcastically chided the crowd for applauding, “Wait a minute, hold on. I don’t know what you people are clapping for, but that bishop has no business bringing the teachings of Jesus into that church. This is why we can’t have women doing those jobs, I’m sorry, but—”
Dropping the sarcasm, Kimmel concluded, “That is the best; good for her.”
The next day, Christy complained that Stephen Colbert “praised Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde’s plea to Trump that repeated several left-wing grievances,” whining that Budde showed compassion toward people:
There are plenty of office cleaners who are not illegal immigrants, and why is a bishop pushing the idea that God made a mistake in creating a child male or female? Colbert was not interested in any of that, however, “That was beautifully said. It took courage. Not only was it beautiful, it took courage to stand up there and say something simple, something so kind, something so true to the example of Christ. And even better, it made Trump so uncomfortable. Because here’s the thing: sermons aren’t a debate. Trump just had to sit and listen to it. I wonder what was going on in his head.”
For a Jan. 24 post, Christy trotted out the “woke” insult for Budde when Seth Meyers examined complaining that “Meyers played a much shorter clip of Budde’s talk on Late Night that removed the context for why conservatives are upset at her but still used it to claim that any criticism of her ‘might be a good sign that you’re a sociopath.”’ He continued to whine: “Meyers introduced a montage of clips by declaring, ‘When you ask him [Donald Trump] to show mercy to literally anyone else, especially the most vulnerable among us, he and his allies in the right-wing media all lose their [bleep].'” He continued:
After a pair of MSNBC clips reporting on the matter, Budde was shown imploring, “Let me make one final plea, Mr. President [Jump Cut]. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.”
Meyers did not play the part where Budde suggested that combating illegal immigration meant going after office custodians. He also omitted the part where she suggested transitioning children was Christ-like.
Instead, he played a clip of Fox News’s Sean Hannity declaring, “A so-called bishop politicizing an inaugural prayer service [Jump Cut]. She goes on a far-left woke tirade in front of Donald Trump and JD Vance.”
Hannity’s colleague, Laura Ingraham, was also shown claiming, “They were forced to listen to the rantings of a lunatic.”
Finally, Meyers showed a local news reporter reading from Trump’s Truth Social post where he called Budde a “so-called bishop” who is “a radical left hard line” that “was nasty in tone” and “boring and uninspiring.”
The idea that a child needs to be transitioned to match their “true gender” would suggest God made a mistake when He created that person male or female. But a little heresy to own the Trumpers is no big deal for Meyers, “All right, first of all, you’re complaining that it was boring? It’s church. You want the bishop to dance to ‘Ave Maria’ with a katana in her hand? Second, if you think a member of the clergy asking the most powerful person on Earth to have mercy on marginalized people is woke or radical left, that might be a good sign that you’re a sociopath.”
He continued, “Republicans may have unified control of government, and they may have the richest and powerful oligarchs on their side. But there are still people willing to confront them to their faces, and when that happens, Trump and his ilk immediately melt down. They still can’t handle the slightest disagreement or pushback.”
The fact that Christy is lashing out at Budde on Trump’s behalf tells us that he can’t handle the slightest disagreement or pushback. And Christy didn’t explain what, exactly, makes Budde “woke,” whatever that means.