NEW YORK, June 22 — Donald J. Trump met privately with evangelicals in New York yesterday, asking for their support and questioning Hillary Clinton’s faith.

Before meeting with a larger group, Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, spoke to a small number of evangelical leaders from around the country, and, according to video posted to Twitter by a minister in attendance, Trump said that “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 no — there’s nothing out there”.

In response to Trump’s comment, the Clinton campaign released a statement from Deborah Fikes, who had been an executive adviser to the World Evangelical Alliance.

“Mr. Trump’s proposals are not just un-Christian — they’re un-American and at odds with the values our country holds dearest,” her statement read.

Fikes also stated that Clinton, whom she said was known as Sister Hillary by organizations she worked with, “is embraced by many evangelical sister churches as a trustworthy and respected political leader because she lives the Golden Rule in her private life and in her public policies.”

Hope Hicks, a spokeswoman for Trump, did not immediately return phone or email messages yesterday evening seeking comment.

Clinton, a Methodist, has rarely talked about her faith on the campaign trail, but at a January rally in Iowa, she offered a lengthy reply to a question about her Christianity.

“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,” she said.

Her support of Planned Parenthood and of abortion rights, however, clash with the views of many socially conservative Christians.

It was on these issues that many of the evangelicals sought assurances from Trump, telling him that they wanted to see him choose a socially conservative running mate with a good relationship to the Christian community, eight members of the group said at a news conference after the meeting.

Trump has seemed to struggle at times in his attempts to court the evangelical vote. 

In November, Trump scheduled a news conference saying that a large group of black pastors would endorse him, but the group replied that although they were willing to listen to him, they were not ready to endorse. 

Trump cancelled the news conference for a private meeting instead, then called an impromptu news conference after the meeting, where none of the pastors offered a formal endorsement.

Yesterday, one attendee, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, said she was impressed by three commitments Trump said he would make if he were elected president.

She said he promised to defund Planned Parenthood, to pass HR 36, or the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, and to appoint a “pro-life Supreme Court justice.”

Attendees were quick to acknowledge that Trump had not completely bridged a gap with social conservatives and evangelicals. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said that conservatives “don’t completely understand him because he comes a little bit from a different world, but they identify with him.”

Mark Gonzales, a pastor and founder of the Hispanic Action Network, said Trump also might find it difficult to reach out to Hispanics. Gonzales said he had discussed immigration with Trump, but concluded that the “conversation will continue.”

“The verdict is still out as he continues to try to create that narrative that we hope will be more welcoming, and won’t be as harsh,” Gonzales said.

During the news conference, a reporter asked which of the eight attendees were ready to endorse Trump. 

None raised a hand. — New York Times