Lou Dobbs died on Thursday at the age 78. He was a former Fox Business host and CNN anchor who supported Republican former president Donald Trump.

Trump, the Republican candidate for president, said that "the Great Lou Dobbs just passed away" on his Truth Social platform. He continued: "Lou loved our Country and was unique in many ways."

In the statement, neither cause nor place of death was disclosed.

The Emmy and Peabody Award winning journalist joined CNN in 1980. He held various positions on the cable network including "Lou Dobbs Moneyline", "Lou Dobbs Tonight" and other anchoring roles.

Fox News Media called him, after his death, "an incredible business brain with a talent for broadcasting (who) helped pioneer the cable news industry into a successful, influential one."

Dobbs, a Harvard-educated journalist who has worked in broadcast journalism for many years, became one of America's most controversial figures. He attracted the ire of Latino leaders and civil right groups over his frequent remarks on air about U.S. immigration and border control that were perceived by critics as demonizing illegal immigrants.

He was seen as giving credence to the "birther' conspiracy theory. Its adherents believe that the former president Barack Obama's Hawaiian Birth Certificate was faked in order to hide his Kenyan birthplace, which would have rendered the first black U.S. President ineligible to hold office.

Dobbs admitted that his comments also caused friction with CNN executives.

After leaving CNN in 2009, he joined Fox Business Network.

In 2021, a Fox Business show that Dobbs hosted was cancelled after the vocal Trump supporter was named in a lawsuit by Smartmatic. The company claimed that Dobbs and three other Fox hosts falsely accused Smartmatic of helping to manipulate the 2020 presidential election.

Trump falsely claimed that the 2020 elections had been rigged. He lost to Democratic President Joe Biden in 2020 and is scheduled to face him again in 2024.