Pat Robertson, America’s longest-running TV host, has announced he is stepping down from his role leading The 700 Club programme.
Robertson founded the first Christian television ministry in the US, the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), in 1960. The TV station now reaches more than 100 countries and territories in dozens of languages doing TV and online ministry as well as operating prayer centres.
In a statement, the 91-year-old announced his son Gordon Robertson will take over the weekday show starting the first week of October.
"'Good and faithful' doesn't even begin to describe my father's service to CBN for 60 years," Gordon Robertson said in a statement to CBN.
"His legacy and the example of his prayer life will continue to lead 'The 700 Club' in the years to come."
The televangelist has often come under fire for comments made on his show, especially regarding the LGBT+ community. He also once claimed natural disasters were a consequence of entering a “pact to the devil”.
In 2013, he claimed that HIV-positive gay men deliberately tried to infect others with the virus and in 2010 he suggested that the devastating earthquake in Haiti that killed hundreds of thousands of people occurred because Haiti had done a pact with the Devil.
He is also known for interviewing US presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, George W. Bush, and most recently, Donald Trump, who he supported.
Various world leaders such as the presidents of South Africa, Zambia, Angola, Zaire, Vietnam have also appeared on The 700 Club programme.
Robertson will now focus on teaching at Regent University and will still appear on a monthly, interactive episode of The 700 Club.