White House press secretary Sarah Sanders has said she believes God "wanted Donald Trump to become president" of the US.

She made the remarks during an interview with Christian broadcaster CBN News.

Mrs Sanders argued: "I think God calls all of us to fill different roles at different times and I think that he wanted Donald Trump to become president.

"That's why he's here and I think he has done a tremendous job in supporting some of the things people of faith really care about."

She also suggested that Trump is the "most conservative president" the country has ever had, highlighting the administration's efforts to appoint more conservative judges to courts in the country.

She added: "There's a reason evangelicals are sticking with the President, and that's because he's delivered on all the things he said he would do."

Evangelical groups in the US emerged as among the strongest supporters of Donald Trump in the 2016 election.

Despite the US President's overall historic low approval ratings, research has shown that white evangelicals are the only major religious group in the US to view Trump favorably.

According to figures released by the Public Religion Research Institute in October last year, 72% of white evangelicals have a favorable opinion of the current president.

However, he has also faced criticism from some prominent Christians.

Christian author and broadcaster Jen Hatmaker told the Religious News Service she was "devastated at how successful he has been in pandering to our lowest, basest selves" - highlighting his "history with women and his disturbing comments".