Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump is meeting with a group of more than 1,000 faith leaders in New York City.
The evangelical leaders gathered during the United in Purpose and My Faith Votes summit, titled: “A Conversation About America’s Future with Donald Trump and Ben Carson.”
The event kicked off with Dr. Ben Carson and Franklin Graham speaking, then Jerry Falwell Jr. of Liberty University introduced former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is moderating the discussion with Trump.
The questions, which come from selected faith leaders, are focusing on a range of topics, including: religious liberty, race, Israel, national defense, Supreme Court nominees, immigration, sanctity of life, poverty and worldwide Christian persecution.
Trump promised to get rid of part of the IRS tax code, which prevents 501(c)(3) nonprofits from campaigning.
Breitbart News Legal Editor Ken Klukowski is also director of strategic affairs at First Liberty Institute, the largest law firm in America focused on religious liberty. He is participating in Tuesday’s meeting on behalf of First Liberty Institute. He explained that the large audience has been polite. He described the audience members as “enthusiastic,” but added that some are skeptical of what the presumptive nominee will say throughout the meeting.
“He’s being well-received by the crowd. All reactions have been positive and respectful,” Klukowski stated.
“We know over the past four election cycles, an average of more than 25 million Evangelicals registered to vote did not show up at the polls, and another 13 million are not even registered to exercise that privilege and responsibility,” CEO of United in Purpose, a non-partisan Judeo-Chrisian organization, Bill Dallas stated.
Dallas added, “The purpose of this event is not to tell leaders for whom they should vote but rather educate them on the issues at hand, motivate them to encourage their constituencies to engage the culture, and activate them to vote for whichever candidate they feel best reflects their values and worldview.”
The faith leaders are scheduled to also hold a press conference at 3:30 p.m. eastern to discuss the substance of the meeting, as the event was closed to press and invitation only.