Yahoo News Pat Robertson Dies: Religious Broadcaster And Presidential Candidate Was 93
Pat Robertson, who built a broadcasting empire and led an influential coalition to make religion an integral aspect of politics on the right, has died. He was 93.
The Christian Broadcasting Network, the enterprise he created from a Virginia TV station, announced his death and said that he died at his home in Virginia Beach.
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“Pat Robertson dedicated his life to preaching the Gospel, helping those in need, and educating the next generation,” the network said.
Robertson led the Christian Coalition, founded in 1987, the year before he ran for the Republican nomination for president. Although he was never expected to get the nomination, he made an impressive enough showing in the first contest in Iowa to remain a force in GOP politics.
More recently, Robertson often drew controversy — and some ridicule — for his statements on his daily program The 700 Club, in which he said that certain natural disasters were God’s revenge for acceptance of homosexuality, among other things. In 2013, he claimed that some gay men in San Francisco were deliberately trying to spread HIV with a special ring. His comments drew condemnation from civil rights groups. CNN’s Anderson Cooper highlighted Robertson’s comments, and quipped: “I totally get why Pat Robertson is against same-sex marriage. He just doesn’t want to give gay men a reason to wear rings.”
Robertson also was prone to wild predictions, including in 2020, when he said that Donald Trump would win the election and that an asteroid strike would end the world. The show still airs on the cable channel Freeform, as part of an arrangement that stems from Robertson’s sale of The Family Channel to Rupert Murdoch in 1998. For years to come, executives at the channel, rebranded several times as Fox Family and ABC Family, had to explain that they had nothing to do with The 700 Club other than the sale obligation to carry it.
Robertson stepped down as daily host of the show in 2021, but continued to make appearances on the program.
Marion Gordon Robertson was born on March 22, 1930, in Lexington, VA. He was given the name “Pat,” by his older brother, and his nickname stuck. Educated at Washington and Lee University and Yale Law and the son of a U.S. senator, Robertson said that he originally wanted to become a New York businessman. But his career direction changed when he became a born-again Christian.
According to the Associated Press, Robertson and his wife Dede moved into a commune in New York City’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood to minister to the poor. After attending New York Theological Seminary, Robertson moved to Virginia, where he bought a UHF station to start what would become the Christian Broadcasting Network in 1961. He began hosting The 700 Club five years later.
The televangelism show took off, using the modern TV format of a talk show to draw viewers, a contrast to other religious broadcasts of church services and preacher sermons. Through the years, the show featured celebrities and political guests, including Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, and helped build Robertson’s name recognition.
As the 1988 presidential campaign approached, Robertson rallied millions of followers to sign petitions and postcards as a way to show his viability as a candidate. In the Iowa caucus, he placed second, a surprise showing that was ahead of then-Vice President George Bush. Bush went on to win the GOP nomination and the presidency, but Robertson had established himself as a key figure in the party for years to come.
In recent decades, Robertson often gained attention for his inflammatory comments. In the aftermath of 9/11, he featured fellow televangelist Jerry Falwell as a guest on his show, and the latter blamed gays, the ACLU and abortion rights supporters for the terrorist attack. Robertson appeared to agree, but CBN later suggested that he misunderstood the remarks. Falwell later apologized.
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But Robertson went on to make other comments that attacked what he saw as the declining morality of the country. He blasted Islam, pornography and evolution education and made other misguided comments about the spread of AIDS.
Robertson’s wife of 67 years, Dede, died in 2022. He is survived by four children, Tim, Elizabeth, Gordon and Ann, along with 14 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren.
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