Eric Thomas Bolling (; born March 2, 1963) is an American television personality,

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

political commentator A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport). Origins The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...

, author, and financial commentator. He has occupied numerous roles as a commentator on financial issues for television, most notably for

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

. He hosted

Fox Business Channel Fox Business (officially known as Fox Business Network, or FBN) is an American business news channel and website publication owned by the Fox News Media division of Fox Corporation. The channel broadcasts primarily from studios at 1211 Avenue ...

's ''Cashin' In'' and Fox News Channel's '' The Five'' before leaving in May 2017. An outspoken supporter of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

, Bolling has published two books: ''Wake Up America'' (2016) and ''The Swamp: Washington's Murky Pool of Corruption and Cronyism and How Trump Can Drain It'' (2017). In September 2017, Bolling was ousted from Fox News, after the network conducted an independent investigation following an article published by ''

HuffPost ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' reporting that Bolling had sent unsolicited lewd photographs and text messages to three female colleagues. Bolling denied the allegations. He later hosted the television shows ''America'' on

TheBlaze Blaze Media is an American conservative media company. It was founded in 2018 as a result of a merger between TheBlaze and CRTV LLC. The company's leadership consists of CEO Tyler Cardon and president Gaston Mooney. It is based in Irving, Tex ...

and ''America This Week'' produced by

Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG) is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, Maryland, ...

and carried by their stations as a

Sunday morning talk show A Sunday morning talk show is a television program with a news/ talk/ public affairs–hybrid format that is broadcast on Sunday mornings. This type of program originated in the United States, and has since been used in other countries. Overview T ...

. He currently hosts a weeknight hour-long program - ''Eric Bolling The Balance'' - on

Newsmax TV Newsmax TV is an American conservative television channel owned by Newsmax. The network primarily focuses on opinion-based talk shows. It carries a news/talk format throughout the day and night, with documentaries and films on weekends. During ...

, which premiered Wednesday July 28, 2021.

Early life

Bolling was born in Chicago and attended grade school at Queen of All Saints Basilica school and high school at Loyola Academy. In 1984 he graduated from Rollins College in

Winter Park, Florida Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 30,183 according to the 2022 census population estimate. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winter Park was f ...

, with a BA degree in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

. While at Rollins, Bolling played baseball. He was drafted in 1984 by the Pittsburgh Pirates. His baseball career was cut short by a torn

rotator cuff The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the human shoulder and allow for its extensive range of motion. Of the seven scapulohumeral muscles, four make up the rotator cuff. The four muscles are the supraspi ...

injury.

Wall Street career

Bolling was a commodities trader on Wall Street. For five years,Hal Boedeker
Fox News Channel: Eric Bolling to become 'Cashin' In' host
''Orlando Sentinel'' (January 24, 2013). he was a board member of the

New York Mercantile Exchange The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is a commodity futures exchange owned and operated by CME Group of Chicago. NYMEX is located at One North End Avenue in Brookfield Place in the Battery Park City section of Manhattan, New York City. T ...

,Callum Borchers
Trump superfan Eric Bolling gets a new show on Fox News. That's a win for the White House.
''Washington Post'' (April 20, 2017). later becoming a strategic advisor to the exchange.

Career as political commentator

CNBC

Bolling was one of several analysts who appeared on

CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...

's '' Fast Money'' as a panelist.

Fox News

Bolling joined

Fox Business Network Fox Business (officially known as Fox Business Network, or FBN) is an American business news channel and website publication owned by the Fox News Media division of Fox Corporation. The channel broadcasts primarily from studios at 1211 Avenu ...

in March 2008 as a financial analyst.Eric Bolling Named Co-Host of Happy Hour on FOX Business Network
(press release), Fox Business Network (November 10, 2008). In 2008, Bolling was named a co-host (joining Cody Willard and Rebecca Diamond) of ''Happy Hour'', a market commentary show in the 5 p.m. time slot. After hosting Fox Business Channel's ''Follow the Money with Eric Bolling'', he became the host of the channel's ''Cashin' In'' in 2013, replacing

Cheryl Casone Cheryl Cecile Casone (born July 18, 1970) is an American television news anchor on the Fox Business. Casone serves as a financial contributor and provides weekly job reports. She also reports on the Fox News. Early life Born in Clearwater, Flor ...

. The program ran on Saturdays. Bolling also co-hosted Fox News Channel's '' The Five''. In June 2011 on the Fox Business Network, Bolling criticized President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

's decision to meet with Gabon's president,

Ali Bongo Ondimba Ali Bongo Ondimba (born Alain Bernard Bongo; 9 February 1959),"Bongo Ali", ''Gabon: Les hommes de pouvoir'', number 4Africa Intelligence 5 March 2002 . sometimes known as Ali Bongo, is a Gabonese politician who has been the third president of Ga ...

, in the White House. Bolling remarked, "Guess who's coming to dinner? A dictator." He then went on to also criticize Obama for allowing rapper Common to appear in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

a few weeks before, exclaiming "it's not the first time he's had a hoodlum in the hizzouse." Progressive group

Media Matters Media Matters for America (MMfA) is a politically left-leaning 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization and media watchdog group. MMfA was founded in 2004 by journalist and political activist David Brock as a counterweight to the conservative Media ...

criticized Bolling, saying "Calling the president of Gabon and Common 'hoods in the hizzy' is not colorful commentary, it is overt racism." Bolling first defended himself on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

before later apologizing, saying, "We got a little fast and loose with the language, and we know it's been interpreted as being disrespectful, and for that, I'm sorry." Media Matters also criticized Bolling for his on-air promotion of citizenship conspiracy theories about Barack Obama ("birtherism") and conspiracy theories about the

murder of Seth Rich The murder of Seth Rich occurred on July 10, 2016, at 4:20 a.m. in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Rich died about an hour and a half after being shot twice in the back. The perpetrators were never apprehended; police ...

, as well as for his claim in 2011 that "liberal Hollywood was using class warfare" in a Muppets movie "to brainwash our kids" and his claim in 2012 that "Every terrorist on American soil has been a Muslim."Julie Alderman
ABC's This Week to host Eric Bolling, a misogynistic, bigoted birther from Fox News
Media Matters for America (June 21, 2017). In 2017,

Bob Beckel Robert Gilliland Beckel (November 15, 1948 – February 20, 2022) was an American political analyst and pundit, and political operative. He was an analyst and commentator on Fox News. He had been a commentator on Fox News and was an original co ...

said that Bolling and

Roger Ailes Roger Eugene Ailes (May 15, 1940 – May 18, 2017) was an American television executive and media consultant. He was the chairman and CEO of Fox News, Fox Television Stations and 20th Television. Ailes was a media consultant for Republica ...

saved his life after performing the

Heimlich maneuver Abdominal thrusts, also known as the Heimlich maneuver or Heimlich manoeuvre, is a first aid procedure used to treat upper airway obstructions (or choking) by foreign objects. American doctor Henry Heimlich is often credited for its creation. ...

on him at a restaurant. While at Fox, Bolling was a guest host on several Fox News opinion shows, such as ''

The O'Reilly Factor ''The O'Reilly Factor'' (originally titled ''The O'Reilly Report'' and also known as ''The Factor'') is an American cable television news and talk show. ''The O'Reilly Factor'' first aired in the United States on Fox News Channel on October 7 ...

'', and '' Fox and Friends''. In April 2017, as part of prime-time lineup changes with Bill O'Reilly's exit, Fox announced that ''The Five'' would be moving to the 9 p.m. time slot. '' Fox News Specialists'' was created to replace ''The Five'' in the 5 p.m. time slot, with Bolling serving as a co-host alongside Katherine Timpf and Eboni Williams. The program premiered on May 1, 2017, but was cancelled when Bolling departed the network.

Trump support and political commentary

Bolling describes his commentary as "really right wing, hard-core conservative commentaries" and has said, "I think this is what my brand personally is all about."Hadas Gold
Fox's Bolling talks of a future Senate run
''Politico'' (June 19, 2017). Bolling has been an outspoken and longtime supporter of

, vocally supporting him since the launch of his

presidential campaign President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...

in 2015.Maxwell Tani
Fox News host with close ties to Trump discusses his dynamic role at the network
''Business Insider'' (December 28, 2016). Trump and Bolling first met on the set of ''

The Apprentice ''The Apprentice'' is a reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States. Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with various professional backg ...

'' about ten years before Trump's 2016 presidential campaign; the two were introduced by

Mark Burnett Mark Burnett (born 17 July 1960) is a television producer who is the former Chairman of MGM Worldwide Television Group. He is best known for creating and producing the reality shows ''The Apprentice'', '' Survivor'', ''The Voice'', and ''Sh ...

, a mutual friend, and went on to develop close ties. In November 2016, after Trump's election but before his inauguration, Bolling was considered by Trump for an appointment in the

U.S. Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for busin ...

, and the following month, Bolling described himself as "fortunate enough to have a close relationship with the incoming administration." Bolling's promotion to hosting his own show on Fox News, effective at the beginning of May 2017, was seen as a victory for the Trump White House. Bolling interviewed Trump more than six times over his presidency.Alex Isenstadt
Former Fox host Eric Bolling considering congressional campaign
''Politico'' (March 12, 2021).

Sexual harassment allegations and ouster

On August 4, 2017, ''

'' reported that several years before and on separate occasions, Bolling allegedly sent unsolicited lewd text messages and lewd photos to three female colleagues at Fox News or Fox Business Network. He is also accused of making "wildly inappropriate" comments to female employees. After the article was published, Caroline Heldman, a former Fox News guest, alleged that Bolling made numerous unwanted sexual advances towards her. Bolling denied the allegations against him. The day after the article was published, Bolling was suspended from

pending an investigation, which the network commissioned the law firm Paul, Weiss to conduct. A few days after the article was published, Bolling filed a summons and "notice of an intent to file a defamation lawsuit" in New York state court for $50 million against freelance writer

Yashar Ali Yashar Ali (born Yashar Ali Hedayat; fa, یاشار علی هدایت ; November 23, 1979) is an American journalist who has contributed to ''HuffPost'', NBC News, and ''New York'' magazine. In 2019, Ali was included in Time Magazine’s list o ...

, who wrote the story for ''HuffPo''. Bolling's summons did not specify the statements he contended were defamatory, and he did not bring an actual complaint against Ali. Ali and ''HuffPo'' stood by the accuracy of the article; Ali's lawyer, in a letter to Bolling's lawyer, wrote that any lawsuit would be frivolous because Bolling is a

public figure A public figure is a person who has achieved notoriety, prominence or fame within a society, whether through achievement, luck, action, or in some cases through no purposeful action of their own, In the context of defamation actions (libel and ...

, because "Mr. Ali conducted a thorough investigation and verified his information with 14 independent sources," and because "truth is always a defense to defamation." On September 8, 2017, Bolling was ousted from Fox News. In a statement, the network said that "Eric Bolling and Fox have agreed to part ways amicably." As a result of his departure, ''Fox News Specialists'' was canceled by the network.

Career after Fox

Blaze Media

Bolling joined the

Conservative Review The ''Conservative Review'' is an American website and brand owned and operated by Blaze Media. It was founded in 2014 by a group of conservative political operatives. The site's stated goal is to "cut through the talking points and the smoke ...

's CRTV in the summer of 2018. CRTV merged with TheBlaze to form Blaze Media in 2018; in December 2018, Bolling signed an agreement to stay with Blaze Media through 2021. Bolling hosted the television show ''America'' on

Sinclair Broadcast Group

Bolling began hosting ''America This Week'', which is produced by

and carried by their stations as a

, in 2019. At Sinclair, Bolling repeatedly promoted Trump's campaign to discredit voting by mail and baselessly suggested that mail-in voting was prone to fraud. In 2020, Bolling conducted an interview for ''America This Week'' with

Judy Mikovits Judy Anne Mikovits (born April 1, 1958) is an American former scientist, research scientist who is known for her discredited medical claims, such as that mouse, murine endogenous retroviruses are linked to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). As an ...

, a discredited researcher featured in the video ''

Plandemic ''Plandemic: The Hidden Agenda Behind Covid-19'' and ''Plandemic: Indoctornation'' are a 2020 conspiracy theory video and film, respectively. Both were produced by Mikki Willis and promote COVID-19 misinformation, misinformation about the COV ...

''. The video promotes baseless conspiracy theories regarding the coronavirus pandemic, and falsely suggests that Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government's chief infectious disease scientist, "manufactured"

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

. In the segment, Bolling also interviewed Mikovits's lawyer, the right-wing conspiracy theorist Larry Klayman. During the interviews, Bolling made no meaningful attempt to challenge Mikovits or Klayman on their claims. After the plans to air the segment on local Sinclair stations across the U.S. generated an outcry, Sinclair postponed the segment to "rework" it before dropping the segment entirely two days later. Bolling said he did not endorse Mikovits' claims. In January 2021, Sinclair announced the cancellation of the show. After his Sinclair program was canceled, Bolling launched a podcast co-hosted with former football player

Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 201 ...

Consideration of congressional runs

In June 2017, Bolling publicly mulled running as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

for

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

after his contract with Fox expired; Bolling opined that some Republicans were insufficiently right-wing. In early 2021, Bolling considered a congressional run in 2022, looking into a possible Republican primary challenge in

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

to either Representative Tom Rice (who voted to impeach Trump over his role in the 2021 United States Capitol attack) or Representative Nancy Mace.

Personal life

He is

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He and his wife Adrienne had one son, Eric Chase Bolling, who died on September 8, 2017, at age 19, from an accidental drug overdose.

Books

*''Wake Up America: The Nine Virtues That Made Our Nation Great—and Why We Need Them More Than Ever'' (2016) - Bolling's first book. *''The Swamp: Washington's Murky Pool of Corruption and Cronyism and How Trump Can Drain It'' (2017)

References

External links

''America This Week with Eric Bolling''
on

WJLA-TV WJLA-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Washington, D.C., affiliated with ABC. It is one of two flagship stations of Sinclair Broadcast Group (alongside dual Fox/ MyNetworkTV affiliate WBFF hannel 45in Baltimore), and is also s ...

''America with Eric Bolling''
on CRTV {{DEFAULTSORT:Bolling, Eric 1963 births Living people American broadcast news analysts American commodities traders American political commentators Catholics from Illinois CNBC people Fox Business people Fox News people Gulf Coast Pirates players Illinois Republicans Journalists from Illinois People from Chicago Rollins College alumni Blaze Media people