Christian TV host Pat Robertson dies at 93

Pat Robertson, a conservative Christian television host, died early Thursday morning at his Virginia Beach home. He was 93.

He is best known for his prayer and commentary for "The 700 Club" and for founding The Christian Broadcasting Network in 1960. Robertson also ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1988, but he lost the primary to President George H. W. Bush. 

Robertson, a Yale-educated attorney whose father was U.S. Sen. Absalom Willis Robertson, D-Va., became a born-again Christian in the 1950s, according to CBN.

Robertson started hosting a daily talk show, "The 700 Club," in 1966, and it is still on the air today, making it one of the longest-running television programs in history. He also expanded CBN's use of satellite technology to reach more than 150 countries in over 100 languages. 

He also founded the Christian Coalition, which mobilized thousands of evangelical voters, as well as the American Center for Law and Justice, which is a conservative Christian legal group.

"I was always impressed with his boldness," Franklin Graham, son of the late Rev. Billy Graham, said. "He did it in a nice way. He wasn't offensive, but he spoke truth. And that offended people – when you speak truth. But that's okay.

Robertson is survived by his four children, 14 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren. He was suffering from declining health before his death and lost his wife, Dede, in April 2022 after nearly 70 years of marriage.

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.