I rarely agree with anything I read or hear from the Christian Broadcast Network ("CBN"), but I stumbled upon an explanation of why the fundamentalists like Trump offered by David Brody that fits with my own stereotyped views of the evangelicals. Essentially, Brody claims that the religious fundamentalists know that they intentionally have imposed on themselves narrow minds that are rigidly opposed to any nuanced thought. They also recognize that their brittle worldview makes them appear to be stupid and backwards, and they understand that they are disrespected and made the subject of ridicule by people who are not afraid to exercise their brains or to ask questions about even things that seem settled.
Brody has created a soapbox and an arena on his CBN radio show for right wing presidential candidates to sell their views on abortion, same-sex marriage, and the myth of religious persecution of Christians to a large, evangelical audience. Using his knowledge of his audience, Brody's expert opinion is that they like Trump because they have convinced themselves that Trump is just as narrow minded and opposed to any nuanced thought as they are, albeit, Trump's beliefs are anathema to the beliefs of the people in Brody's evangelical audience.
Quotes below the squiggle.