Pat Robertson

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[[Image:Pat Robertson.jpg|thumb|165px|Pat showing off the one-finger victory salute.]]
{{christianity|1}}
{{cquote|…make not my Father's house a house of merchandise.|||{{bible|John|2|16}}}}
{{cquote|The [[feminist]] agenda is not about [[equal rights]] for women. It is about a [[socialist]], anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice [[witchcraft]], destroy [[capitalism]], and become [[lesbians]].|||Robertson, professional [[Bullshit|rambler]]<ref>[https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pat-robertson-feminist-agenda/ Did Pat Robertson Say Feminism Encourages Women to “Kill Their Children”?] by David Mikkelson (4 April 2019) ''Snopes''.</ref>}}
{{cquote|If my only exposure to [[religion]] were to the ramblings of the Pat Robertson network or the pontifications of [[right-wing]] politicians who after every [[mass shooting]] call only for "[[thoughts and prayers]]", I would probably have [[Antitheism|rejected it]] my­self.|||Rev. Barry W. Lynn<ref>[https://www.au.org/the-latest/church-and-state/articles/a-man-on-a-mission-the-rev-barry-w-lynn-led-americans-united-for-25-years-spreading-the-gospel-of-church-state-separation/ A Man On A Mission: The Rev. Barry W. Lynn Led Americans United For 25 Years, Spreading The Gospel Of Church-State Separation] by Rob Boston (Jul 15, 2022) ''Americans United for Separation of Church and State''.</ref>}}
{{cquote|Pat Robertson doesn't worship the cross. He worships the fucking dollar sign.|||{{wpl|Corey Taylor}}<ref>[https://archive.ph/oCs2n "Deliver Us From Evil",]New Musical Express, 2001 September 8, scanned via "she's got magazines" Tumblr blog, archived on 2023 June 8</ref>}}
{{cquote|You ever get the feeling that if there's an afterlife, Pat Robertson's going to spend his first thousand years in it really, really, surprised?|||Keith Olbermann<ref>''The Worst Person in the World and 202 Strong Contenders'' by Keith Olbermann (Wiley, September 2006). ISBN 0-470-04495-0.</ref>{{rp|141}}}}
'''Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson''' {{lived|1930|2023}}<ref>Ben Finley, [https://archive.ph/DIK4t Pat Robertson dies at 93; founded Christian Broadcasting Network, Christian Coalition]. Archived from ''The Washington Post'', 8 June 2023.</ref> was a founding member of the 700 Club, an [[Totalitarianism|ultra]]-[[Authoritarianism|authoritarian]] [[Baptist]] [[Christian]] [[Extremism|extremist]] group that funds itself using old school TV telethons. He was also the founder of the [[Christian Broadcasting Network]] and [[Regent University]], which operate on the same campus in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Pat Robertson (King of Stupid Statements)<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160618044452/http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/06/15/pat-robertson-liberals-love-gays-and-islamists-conservatives-should-let-them-kill-themselves Pat Robertson: Liberals Love Gays and Islamists; Conservatives Should “Let Them Kill Themselves”]</ref> claimed to have a direct link with [[God]] like the [[prophet]]s. He often used that link on his show to tell God to "[[Faith healing|cure]]" people watching who have given him money. But the most famous use of his God talk was predicting disasters to strike against the [[United States]] and particular states or cities [[Divine retribution|in response]] to their support of equal rights for [[homosexual]]s. Orlando was one place Robertson said God told him would be hit by a meteor.<ref name=NPR>[http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=5151840 NPR story on crazy Pat]</ref> He also liked to get really personal, claiming for example that Ariel Sharon suffered a stroke due to his ungodly division of [[Israel]] (apparently Sharon being old and grossly obese couldn't have ''possibly'' been a factor).<ref name=NPR />

Robertson was an [[old earth creationist]]<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna50019957 PP - Old Earth]</ref> and thought that [[young Earth creationism|a 6,000 year old earth]] is "not in the [[Bible]]", but despite this, his organisation sells Young Earth Creationist material.<ref>[http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/even-pat-robertson-denies-earth-years-old Even Pat Robertson Denies that the Earth is 6,000 Years Old]</ref>

Oh, and he's the son of {{wpl|A. Willis Robertson||,}} a prominent [[Virginia]] [[Dixiecrat|Democratic]] [[segregation]]ist.<ref>Scott Crass, [https://themoderatevoice.com/pat-robertsons-father-a-longtime-segregationist-senator-from-va/ Pat Robertson’s Father A Longtime Segregationist Senator from VA]. ''The Moderate Voice'', 2 August 2013.</ref> The elder Robertson opposed practically every civil rights proposal, even anti-lynching bills.<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/75-1/h27 To pass H.R. 1507, an anti-lynching bill]. govtrack.us, 15 April 1937.</ref> Hence the [[concern troll]] designation to one of Pat Robertson's ludicrous and debunked [[conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]].<ref>Warren Fiske, [https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2016/nov/14/pat-robertson/pat-robertson-absurdly-says-sanger-king-conspired-/ Pat Robertson absurdly says Sanger, King conspired in black genocide]. ''Politifact'', 14 November 2016.</ref>

==Fake war hero==
Robertson served in the Marines during the [[Korean War]] and frequently claimed to have seen combat, including in his memoirs and numerous interviews. In 1981, Republican Congressman Pete McCloskey, himself a decorated Korean War vet, showed that Robertson had used family connections{{efn|His father, Absalom Robertson, was a Democratic Senator from Virginia (i.e., a [[Dixiecrat]]).}} to land a cushy posting to divisional headquarters in [[Japan]]. Robertson was accused by both McCloskey and a Korean war veteran who served with him of sexually harassing a Korean girl who was employed to clean the barracks.<ref>''The Most Dangerous Man in America? Pat Robertson and the Rise of the Christian Coalition'' by Rob Boston (1996) Prometheus Books. ISBN 1573920533.</ref>{{rp|41}} The controversy helped derail Robertson's presidential chances when Robertson repeated the claim in a campaign brochure.

==Presidential candidate==
Robertson ran a strong campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 1988, challenging Vice President [[George H.W. Bush]], Senator [[Bob Dole]], and others. Robertson's hard right campaign scored a close second to Bush in the [[Iowa]] caucus and won the [[Nevada]] and [[Washington]] primaries, but flamed out by Super Tuesday. Robertson endorsed Bush, who won that year.

==President Trump==
Robertson thought Democrats, Liberals, and progressives who opposed [[Donald Trump|Trump]] were 'revolting' against God's plan for America.
{{cquote|If the Lord’s plan involves a pussy-grabbing, thrice-married, narcissistic, megalomaniac carrying out His wishes… well, I finally get the point about how God works in mysterious ways.|||[[Hemant Mehta]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170218164638/http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2017/02/16/pat-robertson-democrats-fighting-donald-trumps-agenda-are-revolting-against-gods-plan Pat Robertson: Democrats Fighting Donald Trump’s Agenda Are Revolting Against God’s Plan]</ref>}}
Robertson opposed [[Obamacare]] 
because
 despite the help affordable care gives to sick poor people.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170327164433/http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2017/03/25/pat-robertson-on-thursday-god-is-going-to-give-trump-victory-with-the-gop-health-care-bill Pat Robertson (On Thursday): God Is “Going To Give Trump Victory” With the GOP Health Care Bill]</ref>

==Armchair stormchaser and healer==
Robertson liked to play armchair stormchaser from his television studio by ordering [[hurricane]]s to change course in the name of [[Jesus]], while blaming storms that do hit on people's failure to pray them away.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120915084829/http://now.msn.com/pat-robertson-blames-tornadoes-on-failure-to-pray MSNBC: Pat Robertson blames tornadoes on failure to pray]</ref><ref>[http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/pat-robertsons-cbn-suggests-god-moved-hurric Pat Robertson's CBN Suggests God Moved Hurricane to Protect Republicans]</ref><ref>[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pat-robertson-hurricane-florence_us_5b972c04e4b0cf7b0042d9c7 Pat Robertson Casts 'Shield Of Protection' Ahead Of Hurricane Florence]</ref> [[Hemant Mehta]] wants to know why Robertson did not [[prayer|pray]] [[Hurricane Katrina]] away.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170611084727/http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2017/06/08/jim-bakker-praised-pat-robertsons-ability-to-control-hurricanes Jim Bakker Praised Pat Robertson’s Ability to Control Hurricanes]</ref>

In addition to prophet of doom, TV [[faith healing|faith healer]], and media mogul, Robertson had broken into the market of infomercials. He had a range of products from [[juicer]]s to [[Fad diet|diet regimes]] (who wouldn't want the strength and physique of a {{age|1930|3|22|2023|6|8}}-year-old man?) to [[Self help|self-motivation]] guides that he hawked daily on his show.<ref>[http://www.cbn.com/health/index.aspx?WT.svl=menu CBN's "health" page — a plethora of pseudoscience that doesn't mention Evolution]</ref> He had also founded the [[Christian Broadcasting Network]], the [[propaganda]] arm of his organization that likes to pretend it's a [[news]] show.

==Blaming victims==
{{main|Blaming the victim}}
{{cquote|The interests of the people are on their health and their finances, and on their pleasures and on their [[sexuality]], and while this is going on while we’re self-absorbed and the churches as well as in the population, we have allowed rampant [[secularism]] and [[occult]], etc. to be broadcast on television. We have permitted somewhere in the neighborhood of [[Anti-abortion|35 to 40 million unborn babies to be slaughtered in our society]]. We have a court that has essentially stuck its finger in God's eye and said we’re going to legislate you out of the schools. We’re going to take [[Ten Commandments|your commandments]] from off the courthouse steps in various states. We're not going to let our little children read the commandments of God. We’re not going to let the Bible be read, no [[Classroom prayer|prayer in our schools]]. We have insulted God at the highest levels of our government. And, then we say ‘why does this happen?’  Well, why it’s happening is that God Almighty is lifting his protection from us.|||Robertson,<ref>''The Handbook of Critical Intercultural Communication'', edited by Thomas K. Nakayama & Rona Tamiko Halualani (2013) Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 1118400089.</ref>{{rp|479-480}} blaming everything except the terrorists themselves for 9/11}}
Robertson had often blamed the victims of natural disasters and [[terrorist]] attacks for being hit. For example, after [[9/11]], he agreed with [[Jerry Falwell]] that the [[ACLU]], [[abortion]]ists, etc were responsible for angering [[God]].<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-CAcdta_8I&feature=player_embedded Falwell and Robertson on The 700 Club after 9/11]</ref> He blamed the earthquake in [[Haiti]] on a 200-year-old pact with the [[devil]] for the country's independence.<ref>[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbukkh_pat-robertson-on-haiti-disaster_news Pat Robertson on Haiti Disaster]</ref> The earthquake in the east USA was also clearly a sign that the second coming of [[Jesus]] is near.<ref>[http://youtu.be/oDDIEu6Qgww Earthquake Sign From God - Pat Robertson]</ref> [[Hurricane Katrina]] was a punishment from God.<ref name=Vamburkar>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120305212015/http://www.mediaite.com/tv/pat-robertson-if-enough-people-were-praying-god-would-have-stopped-the-tornadoes/ Pat Robertson: If ‘Enough People Were Praying,’ God Would Have Stopped The Tornadoes]</ref> The {{wpl|2017 Las Vegas Strip shooting}} was caused by disrespect for [[Donald Trump]] and the [[national anthem]].<ref>[http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/pat-robertson-blames-vegas-shooting-on-disrespect-for-trump-the-national-anthem-and-god/ Pat Robertson Blames Vegas Shooting On Disrespect For Trump, The National Anthem And God]</ref> Apparently both God's aim and his timing leave somewhat to be desired, if Robertson is to be believed.

By the way, massive tornadoes that level entire towns in Oklahoma are ''not'' caused by God, but by the insufficient understanding of people who just don't know where to build safely.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rSp7fzgCuqI Robertson: Prayer Could Have Stopped the Tornadoes]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130522123138/http://thebigslice.org/you-wont-believe-what-pat-robertson-is-blaming-the-ok-tornado-on/ You Won’t Believe Who Pat Robertson Blames for Tornadoes,] The Big Slice</ref> Tornadoes also happened because not enough people [[Prayer|prayed]].<ref name=Vamburkar/>

Robertson just wanted to let you know...

==Hate, hate, hate!==
===Homophobia===
In August 2013, Robertson revealed his belief in a gay conspiracy theory about gay death rings. Basically, Robertson suggested that men in San Francisco wear very sharp rings that could cut you during a handshake and spread HIV. In July 2013, he had advised one 700 Club viewer to never "like" a social-media photo of a gay couple kissing because it would equate to condoning their relationship. Robertson [[Lying for Jesus|denied he's anti-gay]] and said that he actually has [[Friend argument|"thousands" of gay fans]] who watch his show looking "to have a better way". He advised a parent whose son came out to investigate his sports coaches in case the son had been molested, because he believed that people turn gay because of child abuse. He advised a woman to be wary of letting her children meet a lesbian friend of hers: "You don’t want your children to grow up as lesbians."<ref>[http://www.advocate.com/politics/2013/12/13/phobie-awards-13-worst-people-year?page=0,6 Phobie Awards: The 13 Worst People of the Year]. ''Advocate'', 13 December 2013.</ref>

That was Pat Robertson [[Sarcasm|loving the sinner]], thank you very much.

Robertson's homophobia had even cost him financially, such as when a plan for him to work with the Bank of Scotland in 1999 was cancelled because Robertson called the nation "a dark land" overrun by homosexuals and said the heads of the Church of Scotland were not Christian since they allow homosexual priests to be ordained.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/361736.stm Business: The Company File, Bank drops evangelist]. ''BBC'', 5 June 1999. {{quotebox|The Bank of Scotland has scrapped a controversial deal with outspoken television evangelist Pat Robertson. The telephone banking venture had been widely expected to collapse after Dr Robertson said Scotland was "a dark land" overrun by homosexuals.}}</ref>

===Atheophobia===
According to Robertson, atheists were responsible for the Wisconsin Temple Shooting.<ref>https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/06/pat-robertson-says-those-_n_1749532.html</ref> He also believed that atheists are unfit to raise children, asking a Christian grandmother to do anything to ensure that her grandson doesn't grow up as an atheist<ref>http://churchandstate.org.uk/2016/09/pat-robertson-atheists-are-unfit-to-raise-their-own-children/</ref> and advocated [[corporal punishment]] for non-religious children until they respect Christian beliefs.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20150107145158/http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/01/05/pat-robertson-says-non-religious-children-should-be-beaten-until-they-respect-christian-beliefs-video</ref> That'll teach 'em, all right, though you might not like [[Antitheism|the lessons they'll learn]] from abuse by a loved one.

===Islamophobia===
For Robertson, "Islam is not a religion but a military group bent on world domination" (he must've missed the bit about them praying and having a holy book and all that religious stuff). He also claimed that Muslims seek to “take over the world and murder those that do not convert to its political system”, while defending Christianity… while forgetting that crimes and murders were also committed in the name of Christianity, which have also destroyed the image of the religion he claimed to follow and the reputation of millions of genuinely peaceful and virtuous Christians around the world. Should we mention that [[Dominionism|Christian Dominionists]] are [[American Taliban|no better]] than [[Islamist|Islamists]]?<ref group=note>[[Theodore Shoebat]], anyone?</ref>

Robertson also claimed that Obama attended an "Islamic madrassa"… which is "mostly false" according to PolitiFact.<ref>http://www.politifact.com/virginia/statements/2016/jul/05/pat-robertson/pat-robertson-misleadingly-says-obama-was-schooled/</ref> He also said that "[[Islamism|radical Islam]] is in the religion of Islam",<ref>http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/pat-robertson-gays-islamists-are-allies-so-let-them-kill-themselves/</ref> and that radical Muslims are “[[Satanic panic|satanic]]”<ref>http://www.nbcnews.com/id/11814608/ns/world_news-europe/t/pat-robertson-calls-radical-muslims-satanic/#.WvTO2eqrTIU</ref> (never mind that that's one of the few bad traits you ''can't'' pin on them). For him, Muslims are "[[Godwin's Law|worse than the Nazis]]".
[[Stopped clock|For all his craziness]], George W. Bush — [[War on Terror|of all people]] — defended Muslims against Robertson's claims.<ref>https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/novemberweb-only/11-11-42.0.html</ref>

===Full on Taliban===
When a viewer asked Robertson what to do about her friend who had a [[Buddhist]] statue, Robertson told her to [[Iconoclasm|"Break it. Destroy it".]]<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suqPKlYAe-Y</ref> Theft and vandalism FTW!

===Demagogue much?===
In the wake of the shooting at a [[Sikh]] temple in Oak Creek, [[Wisconsin]] in which 7 people (including the gunman, Wade Michael Page) were killed, Robertson was his usual 
deranged
 perceptive self when he proclaimed that the gunman (a known [[White supremacy|white supremacist]])<ref>[https://www.splcenter.org/resources/stories/alleged-sikh-temple-shooter-former-member-skinhead-band/ Alleged Sikh temple shooter former member of Skinhead band,] Southern Poverty Law Center''</ref> attacked the temple because ''"people who are [[Atheists hate god|atheists, they hate God]]"''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120807163810/http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/08/06/pat-robertson-sikh-temple-massacre-because-atheists-hate-god/ Pat Robertson: Sikh temple massacre because ‘atheists hate God’,] ''The Raw Story''</ref>

===Spirit of Antichrist===
Who is, according to Robertson, the [[Antichrist]]?
{{quotebox|You say you're supposed to be nice to the [[Episcopalian]]s and the [[Presbyterian]]s and the [[Methodist]]s and this, that, and the other thing. Nonsense. I don't have to be nice to the spirit of the Antichrist.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0149408/quotes</ref>}}
The answer is a bit vague, but certainly many Christian [[denomination]]s that disagree with him are part of the Antichrist thing.

===Anti-Hinduism===
Robertson repeatedly attacked [[Hinduism]], calling it a cult "in touch with Satan and demon spirits".<ref>[https://www.au.org/the-latest/articles/death-of-pat-robertson/ Pat Robertson: Some reflections on a squandered life] by Rob Boston (Jun 08, 2023) ''Americans United for Separation of Church and State''.</ref><ref>''The Most Dangerous Man in America? Pat Robertson and the rise of the Christian Coalition'' by Rob Boston (1996) Prometheus Books. ISBN 1573920533.</ref>{{rp|151-152}}

==Money, money, money!==
===Charity money used wrongly===
From here, however, Robertson's crazy preacher mentality started to take a more sinister turn. The 700 Club runs a charity called Operation Blessing which supposedly helps people in need in [[Third World]] countries. But it has been shown that Robertson used it as a [[front group]] to push his own nefarious financial doings in [[Africa]].<ref>[http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/07/doc-mission-congo-alleges-pat-robertson-exploited-post-genocide-rwandans-for-diamonds.html ‘Mission Congo’ Alleges Pat Robertson Exploited Post-Genocide Rwandans For Diamonds]</ref><ref name="mission-congo">[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3091380/ Mission Congo - A 2013 documentary that examines whether a charity organized by Pat Robertson to aid Rwandan Genocide refugees was a front for diamond mining.]</ref> One terrible example was in the mid 90's when Robertson ran a telethon to pay for [[plane]]s for Operation Blessing to remove refugees from camps in {{wpl|Rwanda||.}} Instead, it was later discovered by a reporter from The Virginian-Pilot that Operation Blessing's planes were transporting [[diamond]]-mining equipment for the Robertson-owned African Development Corporation, a venture Robertson had established in cooperation with Zaire's then-[[dictator]], Mobutu Sese Seko, whom Robertson had befriended earlier in 1993.<ref name="mission-congo"/><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20010212124410/http://www.skeptictank.org/robem2.htm</ref> According to Operation Blessing documents, Robertson personally owned the planes used for Operation Blessing airlifts.

===Financial entanglement with dictators===
Another example was his use of the [[CBN]] propaganda wing to secure his financial entanglements with [[dictator]]s. Robertson repeatedly supported former President of [[Liberia]] Charles Taylor in various episodes of his ''700 Club'' program during the [[United States]] involvement in the Liberian Civil War in June and July of 2003. Robertson accused the U.S. State Department of giving [[George W. Bush|Bush]] bad advice in supporting Taylor's ousting as president, and of trying "as hard as they can to destabilize Liberia."<ref>[https://wwrn.org/articles/1966/ "Robertson Defends Liberia's President"], Alan Cooperman, ''The Washington Post'', July 10 2003.</ref>

Robertson was criticized for failing to mention in his broadcasts his $8,000,000 (USD) investment in a Liberian gold mine, and falsely claimed — just as he had in [[Zaire]] — that the planes he sent over with supplies for the mines contained aid for victims of the [[Rwandan genocide]].<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/2001/09/22/pat-robertsons-gold/52159637-bab6-4879-a032-eb3ddc6bc745/ "Pat Robertson's Gold"], Colbert I. King, September 22 2001, ''The Washington Post''.</ref> Taylor had been indicted by the [[United Nations]] for [[war crimes]] at the time of Robertson's support, and in 2012, he was sentenced to 50 years in prison for “aiding and abetting the widespread and systematic commission of crimes against the civilian population of Sierra Leone”.<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24537834</ref>

===Business scams===
{{main|Confidence trick}}
Robertson created a [[multilevel marketing]] scheme known as American Benefits Plus that sold discount coupon books to fellow-Christians. After taking all the money from the [[Mark|suckers]], Robertson renamed the business as KaloVita, abandoning the then-worthless coupon books. KaloVita sold highly-overpriced [[megavitamin]]s. In due time KaloVita was sold off to end an IRS investigation and investigations by state attorneys general for fraudulent behavior.<ref>[https://www.newsweek.com/god-theres-no-cap-189608 'With God There's No Cap'] by Mark Hosenball (10/2/94 at 8:00 PM EDT) ''Newsweek''.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20230726025707/https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1994/vp941112/11120167.htm Kalovita Sold To Dallas Firm 20 Beach Workers To Be Idled In Move] by Lynn Waltz (November 12, 199) ''The Virginia-Pilot'' (archived from July 26, 2023).</ref>

==Failed prophecies of the Second Coming==
Robertson has made many prophecies over the years. None of them have come to pass.
* '''1980''': "a year of sorrow and bloodshed that will have no end soon, for the world is being torn apart, and my kingdom<ref group=note>We hope Pat was channelling God here and not referring to his own kingdom.</ref> shall rise from the ruins of it."
* '''1982''': The Great Tribulation would begin in October or November 1982, following an invasion of [[Israel]] by the [[Soviet Union]].
* '''1985''': Worldwide economic collapse!
* '''1996''': Jay Rockefeller (D-West By God Virginia) would be elected [[President of the United States]] in 1996. (''Obviously'' he's a candidate for being the [[Antichrist]], because, well, he's a Rockefeller.)
* '''2007''': After his prophecy of 1982 failed to pass, he changed it to 2007, because 2007 is 40 years since the {{wpl|Six-Day War}} and 400 years since the founding of Jamestown, [[Virginia]] in 1607. Israel and the Six Day War often figure in date-setting attempts by [[End Times]] preachers, but what Jamestown has to do with it is anyone's guess (unless Robertson thinks modern Virginia has a central role in the End Times due to his own inflated view of Virginia Beach-based CBN's importance in the overall scheme of things).

For his failed efforts, he shared the 2011 [[Ig Nobel Prize]] for Mathematics with some other prophetic losers: Dorothy Martin, [[Elizabeth Clare Prophet]], Lee Jang Rim, and Credonia Mwerinde, and [[Harold Camping]].<ref>[http://www.improbable.com/ig/ig-pastwinners.html Winners of the Ig® Nobel Prize]</ref>

So far his track record is 0 for 5, although to be generous one could say his 1980 prophecy was accurate inasmuch as the [[Iran]]-[[Iraq]] War and the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] occupation of [[Afghanistan]] both date from that year, with the consequences of both still playing out today with no end in sight.

Robertson, unlike many [[Evangelicalism|evangelicals]], did not believe in a pre-tribulation [[rapture]]. He believed that the [[Second Coming]] of [[Jesus]] will be after a 7-year Great Tribulation (also known as the [[Obama]] administration by fundamentalists), during which the [[Antichrist]] will rise to power and the prophecies in the [[Book of Daniel]] and [[Book of Revelation]] will take place.

In addition, Robertson was strongly under the impression that Jews must convert to Christianity for the End Times to kick in. Whether the lack of this precondition has ''anything'' to do with his current piss-poor track record as a prophet is left strictly up to the reader.<ref>[http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/robertson-jews-must-convert-christianity-usher-end-times Robertson: Jews Must Convert To Christianity To Usher In End Times,]''Right Wing Watch''</ref>

On the other hand, Robertson hated direct competition, calling other would-be prophets "nutty" and their prophecies originating "from the pit of [[Hell]]", among other things.<ref>[http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/pat-robertson-still-lacking-self-awareness-calls-disaster-prophecies-nutty-and-pit-hell Pat Robertson, Still Lacking Self-Awareness, Calls Disaster Prophecies 'Nutty' and 'From the Pit of Hell',] Right Wing Watch</ref>

In February 2022, in the wake of [[Vladimir Putin|Vladimir Putin's]] unprompted [[Ukraine#Russo-Ukrainian War|invasion of Ukraine]], the now-retired Robertson made a special appearance on the 700 Club for a trip into [[Cold War]] [[End Times]] nostalgia, where the mysterious Biblical lands of [[Gog and Magog]] in the apocalyptic prophecy in [[Ezekiel|Ezekiel 38-39]] were actually [[Russia]]. On the program, Robertson declared that Putin was "compelled by God" to invade Ukraine, and believed that this was a precursor to the ultimate goal of moving "against Israel ultimately", invading together with other supposed mobilized armies in the region (such as the armies of [[Turkey]], [[Iran]], [[Sudan]], and other nations which he randomly assigned to the mysterious Biblical territories mentioned in Ezekiel 38). For some reason, this was an example of God "getting ready to do something amazing".<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/01/pat-robertson-putin-god-russia-ukraine/ "Pat Robertson says Putin was ‘compelled by God’ to invade Ukraine to fulfill Armageddon prophecy"] by Timothy Bella, Washington Post, 2022 March 1</ref><ref>[https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/2022/february/god-is-getting-ready-to-do-something-amazing-founder-pat-robertson-on-russia-and-its-place-in-prophecy "'God Is Getting Ready to Do Something Amazing': CBN Founder Pat Robertson on Russia and Its Place in Prophecy"] by Steve Warren, CBN News, 2022 February 28</ref>

==Books==
One of Robertson's books is the 1992 book ''[[The New World Order]]''. The book promotes the [[New World Order]] conspiracy.<ref>''The New World Order'' by  by Pat Robertson (1991) Word Publishing ISBN 0849909155.</ref> That book cites among its sources [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitic]] author [[Eustace Mullins]]. In addition, [[Constance Cumbey]] has accused Robertson of [[Plagiarism|plagiarizing]] wholesale passages from her 1983 book ''The Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow''<ref>''The Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow: The New Age Movement and Our Coming Age of Barbarism'' by onstance Cumbey (1983) Huntington House. ISBN 091031103X.</ref> in ''The New World Order''.

Ol' Pat felt left behind after all the brouhaha over the ''[[Left Behind]]'' books and he decided to try his hand at an apocalyptic "end times" novel in 1996, ''The End of the Age''.<ref>''The End of the Age'' by Pat Robertson (1996) Word Publishing. ISBN 0849937132.</ref> The novel has civilization as we know it end from an [[asteroid]] impact and massive tidal wave in [[California]]. Sound familiar? It should&nbsp;— it's an obvious rip-off from Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's 1977 [[science fiction]] novel ''Lucifer's Hammer''.<ref>''Lucifer's Hammer'' by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle  (1977) Playboy Press. ISBN 0872234878.</ref> Only this time the premise is Christian, so of course the [[Antichrist]] comes to power and becomes the [[President of the United States|President of the United States]], who takes orders from a shadowy Middle Eastern worshiper of the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] god Shiva and makes [[New Age]] the official [[state religion]], along with the usual [[666|mark of the beast]] stuff, while the remaining Christians eventually gather in an isolated [[Colorado]] [[Survivalism|compound]] to fight back with, what else, a Christian television station. Doesn't that bit about an ingathering in Colorado [[Ayn Rand#Atlas Shrugged|sound familiar too?]] Really, it's not worth the bother. Read ''Lucifer's Hammer'' instead.

==Pat Robertson, Hitman of The Cloth==
In 2005, Robertson called for the assassination of a democratically-elected leader of an independent foreign nation, [[Venezuela]], live on television.<ref>[https://www.mediamatters.org/pat-robertson/robertson-called-assassination-venezuelas-president Media Matters]</ref> Of [[Hugo Chavez]], he said "if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war." Unusually for a right-winger, Robertson soon apologised,<ref>[http://www.patrobertson.com/pressreleases/hugochavez.asp Apology]</ref> sort of, but not before he'd lost the support of the right-wing Christians he claimed to represent.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060408083957/http://www.theamericanview.com/index.php?id=385 The American View]</ref> Fellow [[televangelist]] [[Jack van Impe]] called Robertson [[Osama bin Laden|Osami{{sic}} bin Laden]] for his comments on Chavez.

==Anonymous==
[[Anonymous]], or some faction within Anonymous, planned to target Robertson and called for a boycott of [[Christian Broadcasting Network]] and televisions stations that broadcast material from Robertson. It is claimed this is a first step with more to follow.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4STkIZQG3Uk Anonymous Message To Pat Robertson]. TheAnon8472, [[YouTube]], 2012.{{quotebox|To dismantle your ministry, we will begin with a boycott against TV stations who run your program. But that is only part of the plan. We intend to put an end to the seven hundred club{{sic}} along with the Christian Broadcasting Network very soon. We have been successful before, and we will succeed again.}}</ref> This appears to have been a complete failure.

==Reasonable stances==

===Pot legalization===
[[Stopped clock|One rare reasonable position Robertson took]] was his support for legalization of [[marijuana]] and the ending of mandatory prison sentences for possession of the drug, saying it should be "legal like alcohol."<ref>Jesse McKinley, [https://archive.ph/IPDEU Pat Robertson Says Marijuana Use Should be Legal]. Archived from ''The New York Times'', 7 March 2012.</ref>

===Age of the Earth===
In another wonderful stopped clock moment, Robertson's commentary on the [[Bill Nye debates Ken Ham|Nye-Ham debate]] of February 2014 is surprisingly reasonable.<ref>Bill Chappell, [https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/02/06/272535141/who-won-the-creation-vs-evolution-debate Who 'Won' The Creation Vs. Evolution Debate?] ''NPR'', 6 February 2014.</ref> He has also declared astronomer, old-earth creationist, and Christian apologist [[Hugh Ross]] to be Regent University's "Scientist in Residence" as of 2019, despite Ross not performing any research at the university; the "residence" appeared to mean a week-long speaking tour every semester or two and heavy promotion of his books to Regent's science faculty.

===Trans people===
When asked about dealing with [[transgender]] people, Robertson responded that transgenderism is real, sex-change operations are not [[sin]]ful, and that one should address a trans person by the [[gender]] with which they identify.<ref name="trans">Sunnivie Brydum, [http://www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2013/07/29/watch-pat-robertson-says-being-transgender-not-sin WATCH: Pat Robertson Says Being Transgender Is Not a Sin]. ''Advocate'', 29 July 2013.</ref> However, he questioned the validity of the identities of trans people who are gender non-conforming or don't go through medical transition,<ref name="trans" /> and he also called the transgender bathroom issue "liberalism run amok" because he considered it petty [[Not as bad as|compared to the threat of "thermonuclear annihilation"]].<ref>Brian Tashman, [https://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/pat-robertson-insane-discuss-transgender-rights-while-facing-thermonuclear-annihilation Pat Robertson: ‘Insane’ To Discuss Transgender Rights While ‘Facing Thermonuclear Annihilation’]. ''Right Wing Watch'', 23 February 2016.</ref>

===Police brutality===
{{main|Police brutality}}
In June 2020, Robertson criticized [[Donald Trump]]'s law-and-order response to the unrest following the killing of [[George Floyd]] by Minneapolis police, saying that this was a time to send messages that one "understand(s) your pain" instead of threatening to send military troops.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2020/06/02/pat-robertson-trump-isnt-cool-protests/ "Televangelist Pat Robertson blasts Trump for his protest response"] by Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Washington Post, 2020 June 2</ref> 

On April 15, 2021, Robertson called for the police officer who killed Floyd by kneeling on his neck, Derek Chauvin, to be put "under the jail". He then commented on the most recent police brutality incident at the time, the {{wpl|killing of Daunte Wright||,}} where during a traffic stop, police officer Kimberly Potter mistakenly reached for her Glock 9mm handgun instead of her taser and shot Wright. Robertson, on his show, took out a handgun and Taser, noted that "there's no comparison" between the two weapons, and called the idea that a trained officer could even mistake the two devices "crazy". He then went off on the current status of police force competence and training, exclaiming that "we cannot have a bunch of clowns running around who are underpaid and who really are not the best and brightest."<ref>[https://thehill.com/homenews/media/548509-pat-robertson-hits-police-over-shootings-they-got-to-stop-this-stuff "Pat Robertson: Chauvin should be put 'under the jail'"] by Joseph Choi, ''The Hill'', 2021 April 15</ref><ref>[https://www.mediaite.com/news/pat-robertson-does-taser-glock-demo-on-air-goes-off-on-cops-we-dont-have-the-finest-in-the-police-department/ "Pat Robertson Does Taser/Glock Demo On Air, Goes OFF on Cops: ‘We Don’t Have the Finest in the Police Department’"] by Tommy Christopher, Mediaite, 2021 April 15</ref>

==Other examples of how weird Robertson can be==
*Robertson appeared with [[Al Sharpton]] in an environmentalist video for the We Can Solve it campaign in 2008 to stop global warming.<ref>[https://www.westword.com/news/al-sharpton-and-pat-robertson-strange-couchfellows-5777129 Al Sharpton and Pat Robertson: Strange Couchfellows] by  Sean Cronin (April 17, 2008 | 1:06pm) ''Westworld''.</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhmpsUMdTH8 Pat Robertson and Al Sharpton Commercial on Climate Change] (Apr 17, 2008) ''YouTube''.</ref> It didn't mean shit though, because Robertson believed that climate science ([[science]] about [[global warming]]) is a religion and did not understand that it is evidence-based.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170205175037/http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2017/02/02/pat-robertson-compared-climate-scientists-to-religious-fundamentalists/ Pat Robertson Compared Climate Scientists to Religious Fundamentalists]</ref> 
*Robertson thought that marriage is a great thing, unless your wife has Alzheimer's. Then it's permissable to divorce her, ASAP.<ref>[http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/robertsons-marital-advice-divorce-your-wife-alzheimers Robertson's Marital Advice: Divorce Your Wife With Alzheimers,] ''Right Wing Watch''</ref>
*Robertson also thought that adoption is a great thing unless the kid is [[xenophobia|some damn furreigner]] or grew up "weird" due to sexual abuse or food deprivation, in which case it isn't.<ref>[http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/more-solid-advice-pat-robertson-be-careful-about-adopting-children More Solid Advice From Pat Robertson: Be Careful About Adopting Children,] ''Right Wing Watch''</ref>
*Robertson's views on [[domestic violence]] were also a trifle 
insane
 
incoherent
 
unenlightened
 odd, to say the least.<ref>[Gawker.com: [http://archive.ph/http://gawker.com/5941983/pat-robertson-tells-man-to-move-to-saudi-arabia-so-he-can-beat-wife-legally-of-course archive.ph], [http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://gawker.com/5941983/pat-robertson-tells-man-to-move-to-saudi-arabia-so-he-can-beat-wife-legally-of-course web.archive.org] Pat Robertson Tells Man To Move To Saudi Arabia So He Can Beat His Wife (Legally, of Course),] Gawker</ref>
*Robertson's odd response to the [[France|French]] debate over legalizing same-sex marriage was a rambling screed that asserted that the [[Illuminati]] caused the French Revolution.<ref>[http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/robertson-gay-marriage-advocates-following-steps-illuminati-out-destroy-god-and-family Robertson: Gay Marriage Advocates, Following In Steps of Illuminati, Out to Destroy God and Family,] Right Wing Watch</ref> No shit.  
*Robertson thought that [[Dungeons and Dragons]] would lead gamers onto the road of perdition<ref>[http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/robertson-demonic-dungeons-dragons-literally-destroyed-peoples-lives Robertson: 'Demonic' Dungeons & Dragons 'Literally Destroyed People's Lives',] Right Wing Watch</ref> (no, ''not'' the movie), a tiresome old [[moral panic]] [[meme]] if there ever was one.<ref>[http://geekdad.com/2013/04/back-to-the-future-pat-robertsons-dd-scare-flashback/ Back to the Future: Pat Robertson’s D&D Scare Flashback,] Geekdad</ref>
*Robertson thought that "XX-Rated" movies are a gateway to demonic possession.<ref>[Gawker.com: [http://archive.ph/http://gawker.com/pat-robertson-xx-rated-movies-are-a-gateway-to-demon-1544075768 archive.ph], [http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://gawker.com/pat-robertson-xx-rated-movies-are-a-gateway-to-demon-1544075768 web.archive.org] "XX-Rated" Movies Are a Gateway to Demonic Possession]</ref>
*Robertson thought that since drugs exist, humanity is enslaved by vegetables, and only God can free us from our overlords. No, seriously.<ref>[https://www.alternet.org/2015/03/pat-robertson-smoking-pot-slavery-vegetables-god-can-set-you-free "Vegetables enslave us"]</ref>
*Robertson believed that [[AIDS]] can be spread by towels in [[Kenya]],<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/22/anderson-cooper-pat-robertson-aids-ridiculist-cnn_n_6030022.html Yep]</ref><ref group=note>This poor country. Always on the news for [[Barack Obama's birth certificate#The Kenyan birth certificate|something]].</ref> completely ignoring modern medical science<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130619232600/http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/transmission.html HIV Transmission]</ref> — or even 80's science, for that matter.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_White Read section on battle with schools, specifically how AIDS is spread]</ref>
*Robertson thought that houses can be demonically possessed and that the possession can be cured by dumping that house on some <i>other</i> 
[[sucker]]
 homeowner, despite the somewhat unethical nature of such an undertaking.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170503213516/http://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatches/2016/12/01/robertson-sell-demon-possessed-house Robertson: Sell Demon-Possessed House,] Dispatches from the Culture Wars</ref>
*Robertson once asked if macaroni and cheese was "a black thing."<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20180929162059/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post/quoted-pat-robertson-on-condi-rices-mysterious-thanksgiving-dish/2011/11/23/gIQA8mdzoN_blog.html</ref>
*Robertson was fond of the strange idea that rebuking clothes and other inanimate objects with [[prayer]] will rid them of the [[demon]]s that can attach to them. No, he ''really did'' say that.<ref>Brian Tashman, [http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/robertson-worth-praying-over-clothes-rebuke-demons Robertson: Worth Praying Over Clothes to Rebuke Demons]. ''Right Wing Watch'', 25 February 2013.</ref>
*Robertson claimed to have leg-pressed 2,000 pounds with the aid of his {{wpl|anabolic steroid|special protein shake.}}<ref>[http://www.cbn.com/communitypublic/legpress_explanation.aspx How Pat Robertson Leg Pressed 2,000 Pounds]. ''CBN'', 10 December 2012.</ref>

===And just plain dishonesty===
Robertson chastised the [[2012 U.S. presidential election|2012 Republican Presidential candidates]] about being open about their positions.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20120106043410/http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-october-25-2011/indecision-2012---the-great-right-hope---the-180-club</ref>

==Notable quotes==
{{quotebox|[[Feminism]] is a [[socialist]], anti-family, political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice [[witchcraft]], destroy [[capitalism]], and become [[lesbian]]s.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/26/us/robertson-letter-attacks-feminists.html?pagewanted=1 Feminism leads to infanticide, witchcraft and homosexual socialism - true story!]</ref>}}

{{quotebox|When lawlessness is abroad in the land, the same thing will happen here that happened in [[Nazi Germany]]. Many of those people involved in [[Adolph Hitler]] were [[Satanism|Satanists]]. Many of them were [[Homosexuality|homosexuals]]. The two things seem to go together."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/19990508032414/http://www.wiredstrategies.com/robertson.html Warning of the obvious link between Nazism and homosexuality]</ref>}}

{{quotebox|[Homosexuals] want to come into [[church]]es and disrupt church services and throw blood all around and try to give people [[AIDS]] and spit in the face of ministers."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/19990508032414/http://www.wiredstrategies.com/robertson.html Robertson explains why so many churches worldwide are attacked by blood throwing AIDS infected homosexuals]</ref><ref group=note>Completely ignoring the fact that there are gays who are Christians. The Episcopalian Church in the US accepts gays and have ordained a gay deacon.</ref>}}

{{quotebox|You know what they do in San Francisco? Some of the gay community there, they want to get people. So, if they've got the stuff, they'll have a ring. You shake hands and the ring's got a little thing where you cut your finger. Really. I mean it's that kind of vicious stuff, which would be the equivalent of murder."<ref>[https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/video-pat-robertson-says-san-francisco-gays-deliberately-spread-aids-with-sharp-jewelry Pat Robertson Claims Gays Deliberately Spread AIDS Using Sharp Jewelry,] Talking Points Memo (NOTE: even ''The 700 Club'' refused to air this one. The learning curve, it seems, is sloping upward for once.)</ref>}}

{{quotebox|I know one man who was impotent who gave AIDS to his wife and the only thing they did was kiss."}}

{{quotebox|[[Irony|I have a zero tolerance for sanctimonious morons who try to scare people]]."<ref>[http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/p/pat_robertson.html Oh, the irony.]</ref>}}

{{quotebox|The [[Islam]]ic people, the Arabs, were the ones who captured Africans, put them in slavery, and sent them to America as slaves."<ref>A.P. Gupta, [https://indypendent.org/2008/05/pastor-pop-quiz/ Pastor Pop Quiz!] The Indypendent, 16 May 2008.</ref>}}

{{quotebox|Just like what Nazi Germany did to the Jews, so liberal America is now doing to the evangelical Christians. It's no different . . . It is the Democratic Congress, the liberal-based media and the homosexuals who want to destroy the Christians . . . More terrible than anything suffered by any minority in history."<ref>''101 People Who Are Really Screwing America'' by Jack Huberman, published by The Nation, ISBN: 1-56025-875-6</ref>{{rp|x}}}}

==See also==
*[[Gordon Robertson]], the man's (poor) son.
*[[Jerry Falwell]], Robertson's BFF when they were both alive
*[[Oral Roberts]]
*[[Frank Zappa]]'s "Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk" is mainly about him (''Broadway the Hard Way'', Barking Pumpkin, 1989).
*[[Regent University]], Robertson's 
vanity project
 private university
*[[Alex Jones]], his successor.

==External links==
*[http://www.amazon.com/Salvation-Sale-Gerard-Thomas-Straub/dp/0879754362/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1464566585&sr=8-1&keywords=Salvation+for+Sale&linkCode=sl1&tag=wwwfriendlyat-20&linkId=51d4d4c73795f478d0e60a07e5839577 Salvation for Sale] A book about Pat Robertson by a former aide

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|3|80%}}

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