You may know Eric Bolling from his time on TV as a financial analyst on CNBC and Fox Business, or maybe as a regular on Fox News shows like “The Specialists” or “The Five.”
The 55-year-old is also a New York Times best-selling author, and a familiar face of the opioid epidemic as he works to push awareness among parents and their children after losing his own son, Eric Chase, to an accidental overdose last year.
The commodities trader-turned-media commentator also counts President Donald Trump as a personal friend, and he’s been known to get the occasional shout-out on the presidential Twitter feed.
Newsmax caught up with Bolling recently to talk Trump, Twitter, media, and more.
Newsmax: You recently offered on Twitter to work for “a single US $1 to help drain the swamp.” Any chance we’ll see you working soon in the Trump White House?
Eric Bolling: HA! That tweet is 100 percent true. I would work for Trump for a single US $1 dollar. But . . . I purposely added the last line in that tweet/offer. Did you notice it? Most journalists who wrote the $1 dollar headline left off “the caveat.”
I would only work for the Trump administration if I had very regular access to the president. At this point in my career, I’ve earned that. I’ve spent a half decade on the board of directors of the New York Mercantile Exchange (same company where Gary Cohn was a director, BTW), where I was the driving force behind their IPO (the largest U.S. IPO up to that date). I’ve run a successful oil and gas business as well. Plus, I’ve spent 11 years hosting the top cable news shows in America.
Big “caveat” for sure, but a necessary one.
NM: Speaking of . . . how should the president go about “draining the swamp”?
EB: I think he is draining the swamp. Remember . . . I was one of (if not THE) most vocal supporter of candidate Trump from day one. I saw the opportunity for America to have a businessman lead. I’ve always been in business and I knew we needed a change from the political cycle we were in — with both Democrat and Republican presidents.
That meant draining that swamp of both liberal Democrat Obama holdovers and dismantling the establishment “old school” Republicans. That’s a lot of muck to drain, so it takes time. Patience. He will get it drained.
NM: The opioid crisis hits home for you. How do we solve this epidemic?
EB: I believe the #OpioidCrisis is an epidemic of massive proportion. Some recent credible research has the number of ODs to be 25 to 30 percent — higher than government estimates. The answer is we need to do these things:
I coined the term for parents “Not My Child Syndrome.” Parents be warned. No child is too smart, athletic, popular, religious, white, black, Hispanic, Asian, male, female, gay, straight, rich, or poor. They will be presented with an opioid situation. Talk is vitally important.
For kids I call it “One Pill Can Kill.” My son Eric Chase died from a single pill. As a successful University of Colorado sophomore, he, like thousands of other college kids, took a Xanax he bought from someone he trusted. That pill, apparently, was a street pill laced with highly powerful fentanyl. It contained a lethal dose. We are devastated . . . profoundly altered for life.
Lastly, we all must remove the stigma that opioids carry. As I have become an “accidental overdose expert,” I realize just how many of us will be touched by this deadly scourge. If we all agree to shine a light on opioids rather than be embarrassed about our proximity to it, we may start to turn the death tolls lower.
But we are in the top of the first inning in this fight.
NM: What’s your most memorable moment working in the media?
EB: I think the many meetings with President Trump. Several on-camera interviews are great but it’s the in-person chats that mean the world to me. President Trump called me the morning after Eric Chase passed. He called again the first Thanksgiving. We have had several talks over the months. He has always expressed his empathy and caring for our family. I will never forget his human side, which most don’t ever get to see. I’m lucky in that respect.
NM: Whom do you respect most in the media and why?
EB: The loss of our son revealed an amazing phenomenon. I was blown away by the support from media people I never knew would be so nice. Aside from Sean Hannity, who was amazing from the start of the tragedy — and as I mentioned earlier President Trump — something surprising happened.
Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski from MSNBC reached out to me on a weekly basis. Don Lemon and Van Jones from CNN also checked on Adrienne and I from time to time. There seemed to be no political divide when it comes to humanity. That brought new meaning to my time in media.
NM: What do you consider to be the most urgent threat to our democracy?
EB: Iran, North Korea, and divisive politics.
NM: What are some of your hobbies outside of work?
EB: I really am a genuine politics junkie. I can watch cable news all day and night. Besides that love of the political process, I love to get out and do the “roadwork” — run, fast walk, just move for 90 minutes a day. Preferably outdoors . . . the more heat the better. That’s also why we spend so much time in Miami and South Carolina.
NM: What is your favorite place to vacation?
EB: See above.
NM: Tell us about some of your current “favorites.”
Favorite television show: “Homeland.” I love how it tracks today’s DC climate (even if I disagree with its assumptions).
Favorite sport: Football, any level, any teams, any day
Favorite authors: Thomas Sowell and Ayn Rand
NM: Which former U.S. president would you have liked to interview most and why?
EB: Hands down, Barack Obama. I would dig into him to deliver the details about the horrendous Iran deal and why he handed over billions to Iran knowing how much they want us wiped out of existence.
Obama handed Iran pallets loaded with U.S. currency and an additional $100+ billion in frozen assets all at once. Why not require them to demonstrate their true intentions? It didn’t make sense then and it still doesn’t.
NM: If you could go back in time 20 years, what would you do differently?
EB: Spend more time with Eric Chase.
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