A controversial and at the same time “pioneer” of the use of television to attract Christian believers in the United States, Pat Robertson has died at the age of 93. The Republican presidential nomination campaign in 1988 made him nationally known and has since made him a central figure of influence on the Christian right.

One of Robertson’s innovations was the talk show The 700 Club, which grew out of a telethon when Robertson asked 700 viewers to contribute $10 a month. In his broadcasts, Robertson spoke out against contraception, against the legalization of marijuana, and in general against social permissiveness.

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Robertson founded the Chesapeake Christian Coalition in 1989, saying it would further his campaign’s ideals. The coalition became a major political force in the 1990s, mobilizing conservative voters. By the time he stepped down as coalition chairman in 2001, his influence on religion and politics in the US was “tremendous,” according to John Green, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Akron.

Robertson rose to prominence in the 1960s, during the Cold War, when the Christian right was vehemently opposed to communism. Secularism was seen by many Americans as the greatest threat to American and Christian values. In 1973, the Supreme Court’s decision to make abortion a constitutional right after Roe v. Wade strengthened Christian rights, which were becoming increasingly active in such matters.

After the 1990s, he became known for all kinds of scores. Among other things, he argued that the terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of thousands of Americans on September 11, 2001, were caused by God’s wrath on America, rather than al-Qaeda terrorists.

Two Republican electoral successes in 2004 and 2016 clearly marked Robertson’s Christian right. As you know, the electoral success of George W. Bush was largely due to the support of evangelicals: in 2000, he received 68% of the votes of white evangelicals, and in 2004 this percentage rose to 78%. In 2016, Donald Trump received 81% of the white evangelical vote with no connection to the evangelicals.

According to the Associated Press