US evangelist Pat Robertson, who once ran for the Republican nomination for president and who has played an important role in mobilising conservative Christians to vote, has said that "God is not a Republican".
Robertson made the remark during an interview with Fox News presenter Chris Wallace on 17th October.
The 91-year-old was asked if there were any negatives to tying Christian evangelicalism to the Republican party, to which he replied: "Well, I came to realise without question that God is not a Republican, that God loves everybody.
"The trouble with, you know, getting involved in partisan politics is that half the electorate you're going to make mad at you. And I should be dealing with eternal matters and not secular politics."
The founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network was featured in the Fox News programme due to his recent decision to step down from leading the 'The 700 Club', a daily talk show he founded in 1966.
He is also the founder of lobbying group the Christian Coalition which wanted to mobilise Christians to get involved in politics. During the interview, Robertson admitted that "mobilising Christians into the political arena" was one of his "biggest achievements".
"It was thought before [that] politics was something dirty," he said. "We had enormous amount of influence and I think it was important."
Robertson failed to become the Republican presidential nominee in 1988, losing against Bob Dole and George H.W. Bush.
The televangelist will now focus on teaching at Regent University and will still appear on a monthly, interactive episode of The 700 Club.