Eric Bolling
| Eric Bolling | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Eric Thomas Bolling March 2, 1963 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.[1] |
| Alma mater | Rollins College (BA) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Adrienne Bolling |
| Children | 1 |
Eric Thomas Bolling[2] (born March 2, 1963) is a conservative American television personality and author who specializes in financial news and political commentary. Bolling is the co-host of Fox News Channel's early evening talk show The Five. He has occupied numerous roles as a commentator on financial issues for television, most notably for Fox News. Bolling took over as host of the Fox Business Channel news program Cashin' In, replacing fellow FBC anchor Cheryl Casone, who hosted the program from September 2009 until January 2013. In 2016, Bolling published his first literary work Wake Up America[3], which became a New York Times best seller.
Early life
Bolling was born in Chicago and graduated grade school from Queen of All Saints Basilica followed by high school at Loyola Academy. In 1984, he graduated from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida with a BA degree in economics, and was awarded a fellowship to Duke University's School of Public Policy. He was drafted in the 22nd round of the 1984 Major League Baseball Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates and was assigned to their affiliate in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League. His baseball career was cut short by a torn rotator cuff injury.[1]
Career
Bolling was a commodities trader[1] on the New York Mercantile Exchange. He specialized in trading natural gas, crude oil, gold, and other commodities.
After serving five years on the board of directors at the NYMEX (now CME Group), Bolling became a strategic adviser to the exchange's board of directors. He was included in Trader Monthly's Top 100 in 2005 and 2006. Bolling was the recipient of the Maybach Man of the Year Award at the Trader Monthly Awards, January 17, 2007.[4]
Bolling was involved in developing CNBC's Fast Money. Bolling left CNBC in August 2007 and moved to the new Fox Business Network as one of the network's financial analysts. He hosted the business show Happy Hour, which ran opposite Fast Money in the 5 p.m. time slot.
In an on-air incident in June 2011, Bolling was mocking President Barack Obama's decision to meet with Gabon's President Ali Bongo Ondimba 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 a few weeks before, exclaiming "it's not the first time he's had a hoodlum in the hizzouse." Progressive group Media Matters criticized Bolling, saying "Calling the president of Gabon and Common 'hoods in the hizzy' is not colorful commentary, it is overt racism." Bolling at first defended himself on Twitter claiming that people were baselessly accusing him because he worked for Fox News. However, he eventually apologized for the comments he made, saying, "On Friday, we did a story about the President meeting with the president of Gabon. 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."[5]
Bolling serves as a host of The Five on the Fox News Channel, a roundtable discussion of the top political and cultural stories of the day. Bolling and then co-host political pundit Bob Beckel were known to take strong opposing positions on issues, positions that lead to heated exchanges. The two, however, have developed a mutual respect and friendship, and Bolling perhaps saved Beckel's life in 2011 when he performed the Heimlich maneuver on him at a local restaurant.[6] Bolling also serves as guest host on many of the most popular Fox News opinion shows such as: The O'Reilly Factor, Hannity, Fox & Friends, and previously The Glenn Beck Show.
On the July 26, 2016 edition of The Five, Bolling claimed that there were "no American flags" in the convention hall of the Democratic National Convention. Minutes later, Fox correspondent Jennifer Griffin reported, "there’s a number of American flags on stage and in the backdrop." The CSPAN feed of the convention, as well as that of other broadcasters, revealed that U.S. flags, several of them quite large, were visible throughout the convention hall.[7]
Personal life
Bolling and his wife Adrienne have one son, Eric Chase. Bolling is Catholic.[8]
References
- 1 2 3 Carpenter, Mackenzie (July 25, 2010). "Ex-Pirates minor leaguer, Eric Bolling, talks bucks on Fox". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
- ↑ The Five, March 10, 2014 https://archive.org/details/FOXNEWSW_20140310_210000_The_Five#start/3540/end/3600
- ↑ Bolling, Eric (2016-06-28). "Eric Bolling: It's grit that makes America great. It's time to stop whining and get to work". Fox News. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
- ↑ "Eric Bolling – Maybach Man of the Year". Trader Daily. January 17, 2007
- ↑ Shahid, Aliyah (June 14, 2011). "Eric Bolling, Fox Business Host, Apologizes for 'Racist' Obama 'Hoodlum In the Hizzouse' Comments". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
- ↑ "Bob Beckel Choking: Says Roger Ailes, Eric Bolling Saved His Life". The Huffington Post. 2011-10-14.
- ↑ "Fox Correspondent Corrects Own Network's False Attack The DNC Showcases No American Flags". Media Matters. 2016-07-26.
- ↑ Fox News: "What are 'The Five' giving up for Lent?" February 13, 2013
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference (Minors)