Trump tells evangelicals he will appoint anti-abortion justice, protect religious freedoms

NEW YORK, June 22 (UPI) -- Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump met with a large group of conservative religious leaders in New York, where he offered reassurances about his potential administration and appeared to question Hillary Clinton's religious views.

Trump spoke to about 1,000 evangelicals and conservative Catholics on Tuesday in a closed-door meeting, saying he would appoint an anti-abortion justice to the Supreme Court and protect religious freedoms.

He also said, "We don't know anything about Hillary in terms of religion. Now, she's been in the public eye for years and years, and yet there's nothing out there."

The comment was captured by a pastor in attendance and posted on Twitter.

Clinton is Methodist and frequently campaigns in black churches. While she does not mention her faith regularly on the campaign trail, she has spoken about it when asked, like during a campaign stop in Iowa in January.

"My study of the Bible, my many conversations with people of faith, has led me to believe the most important commandment is to love the Lord with all your might and to love your neighbor as yourself, and that is what I think we are commanded by Christ to do," Clinton said at the time, according to The New York Times.

Responding to reporters' questions afterward Tuesday to clarify Trump's comments about Clinton, spokeswoman Hope Hicks said the GOP candidate had "no intention" of questioning Clinton's faith. Instead, Hicks said, Trump "should be praised" for refusing to speculate about Clinton's personal religious beliefs, instead saying he did not know the answer to the question.

Tuesday's gathering was organized by Bill Dallas, leader of the Christian group United in Purpose, and began with a list of 100 attendees and quickly grew to 1,000 as interest ballooned among evangelical leaders.

Several other prominent conservative religious leaders who served as members of a steering committee to organize the event met privately with Trump before the larger event. They included Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, radio host James Dobson, Bob Vander Plaats of The Family Leader and longtime religious activist Gary Bauer.

Some members of the committee met with the media afterward and none said they have fully endorsed Trump, who at times struggled to win over evangelical support during the GOP primary.

Instead, Perkins said, they were trying to reach a better understanding of Trump's views on religion and social issues.

"[Religious conservatives] don't completely understand him because he comes a little bit from a different world, but they identify with him," Perkins said.