Pat Robertson, original name Marion Gordon Robertson, is an American evangelist who is noted for his conservative views. He founded in 1960 what became the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), which airs his talk show, The 700 Club. Also an American media mogul, televangelist, political commentator, former Republican presidential candidate, and former Southern Baptist minister.
Robertson advocates a conservative Christian ideology and is known for his past activities in Republican party politics. He is associated with the Charismatic Movement within Protestant evangelicalism. He serves as chancellor and CEO of Regent University and chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). He appears daily on The 700 Club, CBN’s flagship television program. He is a force to reckon with and a voice a lot of Americans identify with.
He has joined the chorus of conservative critics lambasting President Donald Trump’s decision to pull U.S. forces out of Northern Syria — endangering America’s Kurdish allies.
Trump was slammed by many of his usual defenders on Monday after the White House announced the U.S. will allow for a Turkish military operation in the war-torn region. Trump argued in a statement that Turkey will assume responsibility for all ISIS fighters captured in the region, many of whom were detained by Kurdish forces allied with America. The Turkish government views these Kurdish militias as terrorists — despite the U.S. supporting them in the fight against ISIS.
Trump shot back at his critics on Twitter by defending his position while promising that “if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey.”
Robertson said he was “absolutely appalled” by the announcement, warning that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is a “thug” and a “dictator.” “To say he’s an ally of America is nonsense. He’s in for himself,” said the 700 Club host. “The President, who allowed Jamal Khashoggi to be cut in pieces without any repercussions whatsoever, is now allowing the Christians and the Kurds to be massacred by the Turks.” (The assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident, journalist for The Washington Post and former general manager and editor-in-chief of Al-Arab News Channel, occurred on 2 October 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey and was perpetrated by agents of the Saudi Arabian government).
Robertson concluded by saying “The President of the United States is in danger of losing the mandate of Heaven if he permits this to happen.