President Trump Maintains Support in New York City's Religious Communities

Members of New York City's Evangelical and Hasidic communities turned out to vote for Donald Trump for president, and they continue to support him, despite his tepid and mixed responses to white supremacists who rally in his name.

One member of Trump's evangelical advisory council, Brooklyn pastor A.R. Bernard, became the first member of that panel to resign on Saturday. "It became obvious that there was a deepening conflict in values between myself and the administration," Bernard wrote in a statement.

At his megachurch on Sunday, many worshipers voiced support for their pastor's decision to leave, but one member, Helen Thomas, referencing scripture, said Bernard gave up an influential position. 

"The four kings that Daniel served, he didn't always agree with them, but he served them anyway, based on what God had called him to do," she said. "You cannot have a voice at the table if you're not at the table," she said.

Thomas said she grew up in the Jim Crow south and was satisfied with Trump's initial reaction to the racial violence that erupted in Charlottesville, saying "both sides" were to blame. The initial protest was over the town's decision to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee. Thomas added that taking down confederate monuments won't stop bigotry.

Another member of the Christian Cultural Center, Gabriella Souza of Bedford-Stuyvesant, said her pastor should focus on the church. And Trump, who she voted for, should focus on his promise to improve the nation's infrastructure.

"The roads are terrible, the bridges are falling apart. People can get jobs from that," she said.

In Borough Park, Brooklyn, which gave Trump 68 percent of the vote, many in the ultra-orthodox community also said the president had done enough to condemn hate groups.

"He said KKK is not good, whatever, he did what he has to do," Chaim Shmedra, 24, said. "He could criticize more, but he's doing a great job."

Another Borough Park resident, Yanky Fried, 20, also voted for Trump. He put the hate groups' anti-semitic rally in Charlottesville in historical context.

"The Persian empire, the Roman empire, they all really tried to annihilate the Jews and guess who's still standing?" Fried said. "So, white supremacists, I'm going to say this: 'You may hate me now, but guess what? I'm standing, and Hitler's dead.'"