The religious right used to be uneasy about Trump – but his dominance is now complete

When Donald Trump first ran for president, his appeal among conservative evangelicals puzzled some outsiders, many of whom wondered how a notorious playboy who once owned casinos could ever be the choice of a party that has been dominated by the religious right for decades.

Indeed, Mr Trump had some hiccups with evangelical voters in 2016, including when he said women should be punished for having an abortion, which infuriated some leaders, who had long focused on punishing providers.

The evangelical ambivalence about the twice-divorced, thrice-married former Democrat was sufficient back then to cost Mr Trump the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucus, with the heavily churchgoing Hawkeye State’s delegates going to Texas Senator Ted Cruz that year.