Robertson used CBN's reach to build a wider institutional and political footprint than any other broadcaster of his era. He founded Regent University in Virginia Beach, sought the 1988 Republican presidential nomination, finishing second in the Iowa caucuses before withdrawing, and founded the Christian Coalition in 1989, which became one of the most consequential grassroots organizations in the rise of the religious right in American politics.
For decades, Robertson's on air remarks on The 700 Club generated their own steady stream of news coverage independent of his institutional achievements, including comments linking natural disasters and terrorist attacks to divine judgment and remarks about other faiths and political figures that were reported and disputed contemporaneously across the news outlets covering the program. None of these remarks carried legal consequence; they are documented here as part of the broadcast record The 700 Club itself created, not as an assessment of them.
Robertson stepped back from daily hosting duties in his final years, handing The 700 Club to his son, Gordon Robertson. He died at his home in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on June 8, 2023, at age 93. CBN and The 700 Club continue to operate under Gordon Robertson's leadership.