It's Not Just Race: Fox's Bolling Has A Long History Of False Claims, Inflammatory Rhetoric
Written by Justin Berrier, Eric Schroeck, Chelsea Rudman & Melody Johnson
Published
As Media Matters reported, Fox Business' Eric Bolling recently made unacceptable and bizarre racially charged comments on Fox, including accusing President Obama of inviting âhoodlum[s]â to what he called the âhizzouse.â But this wasn't the first time Bolling acted inappropriately while employed by Fox. Bolling has a long history of making false and misleading claims as well as using inflammatory rhetoric and smears during his time at Fox.
Bolling's History Of Racially Charged Remarks
Bolling's History Of Other Inflammatory Rhetoric And Smears
Bolling Habitually Scapegoats And Stokes Fear Of Muslims
Bolling Has Promoted Numerous Conspiracy Theories
Bolling Has Demonized Immigrants
Bolling Has Made Numerous False Claims About Energy And Repeatedly Shilled For More Oil Drilling
Bolling Regularly Mocks, Denies Climate Change
Bolling Has A Long Track Record Of False Claims About The Economy And Taxes
âCrush Collective Bargainingâ: Bolling Targets Labor Unions
Bolling Has Made False Claims Regarding Obama And Foreign Policy
Bolling Hyped Debunked ACORN Videos, Attacked ACORN
Bolling's History Of Racially Charged Remarks
Bolling: âWhat's With All The Hoods In The Hizzy?â During the June 10, 2011, edition of his Fox Business show, Follow the Money, Bolling teased a segment about Obama hosting Ali Bongo Ondimba, president of Gabon, by saying: âGuess who's coming to dinner? A dictator. Mr. Obama shares a laugh with one of Africa's kleptocrats. It's not the first time he's had a hoodlum in the hizzouse.â In a subsequent tease, Bolling said, âSmile for the birdie,â while footage of a smiling Bongo with a flashing tooth, apparently made to resemble a gold-plated tooth, was shown on-air. Bolling continued: âOur president's sitting with one of Africa's most wanted. It's not the first time he's had a hood in the big crib.â Footage of rapper Common appeared on air as Bolling spoke. Bolling began the actual segment by saying: âSo what's with all the hoods in the hizzy?â [Fox Business, Follow the Money, 6/10/11, via Media Matters]
Fox Graphics Show Gabon President With A Flashing Tooth, And Mention âHoods In The House.â During Bolling's show, Fox aired on-screen text saying, âHoods in the Houseâ and depicted Bongo with a flashing tooth:
Bolling Apologized For Using âFast And Looseâ Language. On June 13, Bolling apologized for his controversial remarks, saying, âWe 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. We did go a bit too far.â [Fox Business, Follow the Money, 6/13/11 via Media Matters]
Bolling Tweet: Obama Is âChugging 40'sâ In Ireland âWhile Tornadoes Ravage MO.â Promoting the May 23, 2011, edition of his Fox Business show, Follow the Money, Bolling wrote on his Twitter feed: âObama chugging 40's in IRE while tornadoes ravage MO.â
[Eric Bolling, Twitter, 5/23/11]
Bolling: Obama Was âChugging A Few 40sâ Instead Of Responding To Joplin Disaster. On the May 23, 2011, edition of Follow the Money, Bolling commented:
BOLLING: [N]ow, tornadoes devastating the heartland, killing scores, and leveling just about every building in Joplin, Missouri -- Mr. Obama, you've decided that chugging a few 40s and rediscovering you're Irish is more important than a presidential visit to a community trying to figure out what just hit them. Leadership, Mr. Obama, leadership; it's about choices and you seem to be fresh out of the right ones. [Fox Business, Follow the Money, 5/23/11, via Media Matters]
Bolling Subsequently Tried To Dial Back âChugging 40sâ Comment. The night following his âchugging 40sâ comment, Bolling pretended he hadn't engaged in racially charged rhetoric, asserting that he âtook some heat for saying Obama should have delayed his European bar crawl.â From his show:
BOLLING: I took some heat for saying Obama should have delayed his European bar crawl or whatever he's doing over there, head to Missouri, check out the devastation, let the people in Missouri know that he's there for them, or, at least, if you're still going to go through with that European trip, maybe swing by Israel on the way back and say, âHey, tip of the hat, guys, I've got your back.â [Fox Business, Follow the Money, 5/24/11, via Media Matters]
Bolling On Obama's Budget Proposal: âMaybeâ It Makes Sense âIn Kenya, But Certainly Not Here.â Discussing Obama's budget proposal, Bolling stated: âHow does increasing taxes count as spending cuts in your world, Mr. Obama? Maybe in Kenya, but certainly not here. This plan will amount to deficit increases, not reductions. It's a load of crap, and I'm offended that you think we're dumb enough to accept your math or your plan.â From the April 13, 2011, edition of Follow the Money:
BOLLING: After about 25 minutes of trashing the GOP plan to tackle $6 trillion in deficit, Obama finally got to his gimmick -- I mean, his plan. His plan is a 12-year, four-part scenario that breaks down like this. Number one, use the $38.5 billion in savings from last week's budget deal, but the president's math is a bit more than fuzzy: 38.5 times 12 is not $750 billion like he proposes, it's $462 billion. So, maybe he should keep the funding for education -- his own.
Number two, cut defense, $400 billion. Let's see, three wars; Al-Qaeda and Taliban want to kill us. Cutting defense spending now is just plain stupid.
Number three, use the blurry numbers they use to jam Obamacare down our throats, and save -- get this -- save a trillion dollars. Meanwhile, premiums keep going up, and, by the way, how does Obamacare save the government money again?
And number four, get this, reduce spending in the tax code. How does increasing taxes count as spending cuts in your world, Mr. Obama? Maybe in Kenya, but certainly not here. This plan will amount to deficit increases, not reductions. It's a load of crap, and I'm offended that you think we're dumb enough to accept your math or your plan. [Fox Business, Follow the Money, 4/13/11, via Media Matters]
Bolling: Border Around Long-Form Birth Certificate âHad To Be Photoshopped In.â Following the release of Obama's long-form birth certificate, Bolling claimed that the birth certificate's âgreen borderâ âhad to be Photoshopped in.â Bolling also suggested Obama's birth certificate wasn't authentic because the doctor âwho signed itâ didn't tell his family he had helped deliver baby Obama. From Follow the Money:
BOLLING: You need to know this. You see this fold? This has clearly been photocopied from a book. You see that? It kind of folds back to, like, almost like the binding of a book. And then for some reason, there's green -- there's a green border around it that had to be Photoshopped in, and I'm trying to figure out why they would do that.
PAMELA GELLER (conservative pundit): Well, this whole border is suspect. I mean, if you're taking a scan of something, it would, to your point, it would be white. Why is this the color of the same -
BOLLING: Note this. Note this, you guys, April 25, 2011 -- two days ago -- is when this was requested from the state registrar -- registrar Alvin Onaka. So we'll keep our eye on it. We'll keep digging. Hey, listen. It may or may not be, but certainly opens up the can of worms that there are at least questions for it.
[...]
BOLLING: Very quickly, Pamela, this doctor right here, the guy who signed it four days after the birth. He passed away, but his wife today, TMZ had his wife saying I had no idea.
She didn't know about it. His son said I had no idea. It came as a complete shock to him as well. If you gave birth to the president of the United States, don't you think your family would know about it?
GELLER: Yeah, well, maybe he doesn't know about it, either. I mean, I think it's very telling that for three years, he didn't release it. There's a big question there. We have to say why. Why didn't he release it after three years? [Fox Business, Follow the Money, 4/27/11, via Media Matters]
For the truth about Bolling's claims, click here
Bolling: Downtown NYC Islamic Center âMay Be A Meeting Place For Some Of The Scariest ... Some Of The Biggest Terrorist Minds.â On the August 19, 2010, edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, Bolling claimed that a proposed New York City Islamic center âmay be a meeting place for some of the scariest minds -- some of the biggest terrorist minds.â Bolling also smeared Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the Sufi leader spearheading the project. From Fox & Friends:
BOLLING: Unfortunately, with this guy, Imam Rauf, he's not a great -- he's not a good guy. He's being portrayed as, you know, a moderate Muslim. This guy has questionable ties. I mean, there's questions whether he has ties to Perdana, which was the group that sent that flotilla towards Israel. Remember that whole conflict on the water? He may have ties. Perdana and Muslim Brotherhood are a handshake apart.
BRIAN KILMEADE (co-host): Precursor to Al Qaeda.
BOLLING: Muslim Brotherhood is -- what they want is they want Sharia law throughout the land, and sometimes they're willing to use jihad to get Sharia law. They're very, very aggressive, not very reformist Muslim activities -- Hamas, maybe. And here's the one that we should all really worry about. Where's Iran in this? Perdana, Iran have been loosely tied to Imam Rauf also. So do I want -- 560 feet away from where a lot of my friends died and I lived and I worked -- do I want a mosque that may be, that may be a meeting place for some of the scariest minds, some of the biggest terrorist minds?
KILMEADE: Yeah, the next Hamburg cell could be right downtown.
BOLLING: Who knows? Who knows? [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 8/19/10, via Media Matters]
Bolling Pushed To Start âAggressive Profiling,â Including âCultural Profiling,â At TSA. From the November 27, 2010, edition of Fox News' Bulls & Bears:
BOLLING: Here is what we should do: privatize [TSA]. Fire them all. Let independent companies come in, take it over, and then do this: aggressive profiling, not just behavioral profiling, cultural profiling as well. Get the airways safe again. [Fox News, Bulls & Bears, 11/27/10, via Media Matters]
Bolling's History Of Other Inflammatory Rhetoric And Smears
In âStreet Meatâ Graphic, Bolling Pictured Rep. Barney Frank âAppropriately Positioned ... Catching, Of Course.â The May 11, 2009, edition of Fox Business' Happy Hour featured a graphic of various politicians pictured around a baseball diamond. When pointing to Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), who is openly gay, Bolling said that Frank was âappropriately positioned ... catching, of course.â On the May 14 edition, Bolling addressed the fact that then-MSNBC host Keith Olbermann had labeled him the âworst person in the worldâ for the segment by attacking then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi and concluding, âHey, I'll tell you what, Olbermann -- you didn't like that? ... I'll let you catch. And you know what else I'll do? Things -- this is the way we play. Sometimes he'll pitch, you'll catch. Sometimes you'll catch, he'll pitch. Take turns pitching and catching -- that's the way we roll over here on Happy Hour.â [Fox Business, Happy Hour, 5/11/09, 5/14/09, via Media Matters]
Bolling Dismissed Enhanced Interrogation Techniques As âA Typical Weekend At My House With My 12-Year Old Son.â On the May 4, 2011, edition of Follow the Money, Bolling defended enhanced interrogation techniques by listing some of the practices detainees have been subjected to and dismissed them as âa typical weekend at my house with my 12-year-old son.â [Fox Business, Follow the Money, 5/4/11 via Media Matters]
Bolling Tweet: âObama And Chavez Sittin In A Tree...K I S S I ....â On April 20, 2009, Bolling tweeted:
[Twitter, via Media Matters, 4/20/09]
Bolling Accused âFree Spending Social Progressive Liberalsâ Of âRuining This Great Country As Fast As They Can.â On May 12, 2010, Bolling tweeted that âfree spending social progressive liberalsâ are âruining this great country as fast as they can.â From Bolling's Twitter feed:
Bolling later tweeted that he ârefuse[d]â to âapologize. Sorry liberals/progressives, we deserve more than spend, tax, & redistributeâ:
[Twitter, 5/12/10 via Media Matters; Twitter, 5/13/10 via Media Matters]
Bolling Repeatedly Called Commerce Secretary Nominee John Bryson An âEco-Terrorist.â On the June 2, 2011, edition of Fox & Friends, Bolling said that Commerce Secretary nominee John Bryson âis so pro-greenâ that âyou could almost call him an eco-terrorist.â Bolling repeated the âeco-terroristâ smear on the June 3, 2011, edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor. [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 6/2/11, via Media Matters; Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 6/3/11 via Media Matters]
Bolling Attacked Native Americans For âGetting $timulus.â In a September 20, 2010, Twitter post, Bolling previewed his Fox Business show, renamed Money Rocks, by attacking Native Americans for receiving stimulus funds, writing: âBig Show tonight: Corruption at the U.N., plus Indian Reservations don't pay taxes and now getting $timulus??â
[Twitter, 9/20/10, via Media Matters]
Bolling Habitually Scapegoats And Stokes Fear Of Muslims
Bolling And Geller Agree: âThe Sensitivity Issueâ Of Islamic Community Center And Burning Qurans Is âThe Same.â During the September 7, 2010, edition of Money Rocks, Bolling commented on the efforts of Florida Pastor Terry Jones to burn the Quran. He stated: âWe looked far and hard for someone to say that it is OK to burn the Quran.â He then stated: âThe sensitivity issue seems to be the key here for the mosque. Is it not the same issue with the Quran burning on Saturday?â He then asked: âSo therefore, if you don't want them to burn the Quran on Saturday, why wouldn't Muslims -- moderate Muslims -- simply say, 'Hey, it's too sensitive an area downtown; move the mosque?'â Guest Pamela Geller, who has helped lead the push against the Islamic community center, said that the two were âthe exact same issue.â [Fox Business, Money Rocks, 9/7/10, via Media Matters]
Bolling: If Rauf Is âA Moderate Muslim,â Why Won't He Move The Mosque âTwo Or Three Blocks Away And Make Everybody Happy?â Discussing the controversy surrounding the cultural center and mosque on the August 16, 2010, edition of Money Rocks, Bolling asked: âThis imam says he's a moderate Muslim, if I'm not mistaken. If he's a moderate Muslim, why wouldn't he propose to move this mosque two or three blocks away and make everybody happy?â [Fox Business, Money Rocks, 8/16/10, via Media Matters]
Bolling: âShould We Really Go So Far As To Make Sure That Muslims Are Cool With Our Space Program?â On the July 6, 2010, edition of Fox & Friends, co-host Steve Doocy introduced video of remarks made by NASA administrator Charles Bolden by saying Bolden made âsuch an extraordinary claim.â Bolden had stated that Obama âwanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science ... and math and engineering.â After airing a portion of Bolden's interview, Doocy said, âHuh? Huh?â Guest host Eric Bolling asked, âShould we really go so far as to make sure that Muslims are cool with our space program?â [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 7/6/10, via Media Matters]
Bolling: âAny Time You See That Arab Youth Fist Pump, You Know You're Going To See Pain At The Pump.â On the January 31, 2011, edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom, Bolling said of the uprising in Egypt: âHere's what's happened. Bill, 22 years in the oil -- in and around the oil business, I'll tell you, any time you see that Arab youth fist pump, you know you're going to see pain at the pump. On Friday, 8 cents a gallon higher on the wholesale level for gasoline eventually that will get to our pump. That will get to our grocery aisle.â [Fox News, America's Newsroom, 1/31/11, via Media Matters]
Bolling Has Promoted Numerous Conspiracy Theories
Bolling Repeatedly Suggested Obama âLetâ Deepwater Horizon Rig Leak So He Could Limit Offshore Drilling. Following the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, Bolling suggested on the May 3, 2010, edition of Fox & Friends that the Obama administration might have âletâ the rig leak before âaddress[ing] it.â On the May 27, 2010, edition of Happy Hour, Bolling again wondered if Obama âletâ the rig leak so he âcould renege on his promise ... to allow some offshore drilling.â [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 5/3/10, via Media Matters; Fox Business, Happy Hour, 5/27/10, via Media Matters]
Bolling Asked If Obama Is âJust Playing Games And Intentionally Causing Pain At The Pump.â On the May 24, 2011, edition of Follow the Money, Bolling asked if âthe administration is just playing games and intentionally causing pain at the pump.â [Fox Business, Follow the Money, 5/24/11, via Media Matters]
Bolling Used âBeck-Approvedâ Chalkboard To Attack âSugar Daddyâ George Soros. On the October 22, 2010, edition of Follow the Money, Bolling invoked the âshockingâ conspiracy theory that George Soros is the âsugar daddy funding many left-leaning organizations,â citing donations to NPR and Media Matters, âall to promote the liberal agenda of massive taxing and spending.â [Fox Business, Follow the Money, 10/22/10 via Media Matters]
Bolling Allowed Ann Coulter To Bring Madrassa Lie Back To Fox News. Serving as a guest host for The O'Reilly Factor on December 28, 2009, and Fox News' Glenn Beck on December 30, 2009, Bolling hosted conservative author Ann Coulter, who falsely claimed Obama âattended madrassas.â As previously reported by Media Matters, Bolling did not challenge Coulter's claims on either show. [Media Matters, 12/31/09]
Bolling Has Demonized Immigrants
Bolling: âWe Need A Concrete ... Electrified Fenceâ On The Border With Mexico. During the February 17, 2011, edition of America's Newsroom, Bolling stated: âWe need a border fence. We need a concrete fence going along the 2,000 miles of our border with Mexico with electrified fence on both sides.â [Fox News, America's Newsroom, 2/17/11, via Media Matters]
Bolling Claimed âIllegalsâ Are âNot Paying Taxes.â On the May 1, 2010, Bulls and Bears, Bolling claimed that American citizens âpay taxes,â as opposed to âillegals not paying taxes,â saying: âWe're all paying tax. If you remove the illegals who are not paying tax with Americans or legal immigrants who do pay tax, everyone wins, everybody wins.â [Fox News, Bulls & Bears, 5/1/10, via Media Matters]
For the truth about undocumented immigrants and taxes, click here
Bolling: Immigration Reform âCan't Be Good For The Economy Any Way You Slice It.â On the May 10, 2011, edition of Glenn Beck, Bolling stated that immigration reform âcan't be good for the economy any way you slice it.â [Fox News, Glenn Beck, 5/10/11, via Media Matters]
For the truth about the economic benefits of immigration reform, click here
Bolling Has Made Numerous False Claims About Energy And Repeatedly Shilled For More Oil Drilling
Bolling Repeatedly Claimed Bush's Drilling Moratorium Decision Caused Oil Prices To Drop From $147 To $33. In at least six instances from January to March 2011, Bolling claimed that President Bush's July 2008 decision to lift the presidential moratorium on offshore drilling caused oil prices to drop from "$147 straight down to $33 a barrel in six months." Energy experts told Media Matters that Bolling's analysis is ânonsense.â Moreover, reports from 2008 and 2009 attributed the drop in oil prices to economic slowdown. [Media Matters, 3/8/11]
Bolling Dismissed Role Of Speculators In Oil Price Surge. On the April 15, 2011, edition of America Live, Bolling claimed that "[t]here are economic reasons for oil to go up or down. If you take away that economic reason, if you add supply to the market it can't rally. You can't blame speculators and you certainly can't blame any futures traders. It really -- you just need more oil." [Fox News, America Live, 4/14/11, via Media Matters]
For the truth about the role of speculators on oil prices, click here
Bolling Promoted Drilling In ANWR: âI Would Sacrifice A Few Caribou.â On Follow the Money, Bolling advocated for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), stating that he âwould sacrifice a few caribouâ in exchange for lower gas prices. [Fox Business, Follow the Money, 3/8/11, via Media Matters, 3/10/11]
For the truth about the environmental impact of drilling in ANWR, click here
Bolling Used Egyptian Unrest To Shill For More Oil Drilling. Guest-hosting the February 2, 2011, edition of Glenn Beck, Bolling and guest Stephen Moore used unrest in Egypt to advocate for more domestic oil drilling, saying that âthe case for drilling is this: since the protesting in the streets, since you saw the Molotov cocktails, the bombs, the rocks being thrown, the price of oil has shot up, skyrocketed, gasoline skyrocketing; but natural gas has gone down.â [Fox News, Glenn Beck, 2/2/11, via Media Matters]
Bolling: âWith World Oil Prices Surging ... Shouldn't We Be Drilling Here, Now???â In a post on Facebook announcing Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell as his guest, Bolling wrote: âWe have Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell tonight... with world oil prices surging on Middle East rioting... shouldn't we be drilling here, now???â [Facebook, 1/28/11]
Bolling: âDrill Here, Drill Now ... Drill, Baby, Drill.â In the wake of the BP oil spill, Bolling responded by calling for a continuation of offshore drilling, suggesting that the âsix-dollar, seven-dollar diesel fuelâ is âmore harmfulâ for fishermen than the oil spill. He said: âWe need to drill here, drill now, and hey, drill, baby, drill.â [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 4/30/10, via Media Matters]
Bolling Regularly Mocks, Denies Climate Change
Bolling: âBlizzard Versus Global Warming. Who Do You Believe: Al Gore Or Your Freezing Butt?â On his Fox Business show, teasing an upcoming segment on energy policy, Bolling asked: âBlizzard versus global warming. Who do you believe: Al Gore or your freezing butt?â He later stated: âA massive storm just swept through the country, so it's a great time to start talking about what? Global warming.â [Fox Business, Follow the Money, 2/2/11, via Media Matters]
Bolling: Warming Of The Earth Is âDisputed.â On his show, Bolling called into question the science behind climate change, saying that the âbasis for the argument on global warming or climate changeâ is âup for debate.â Bolling added, âThis is just a big scam.â [Fox Business, Follow the Money, 1/10/11, via Media Matters]
Bolling Mocked Global Warming. In a post on his Twitter feed, Bolling mocked global warming, writing: âGlobal Warming. hahaha. Yesterday....Houston first snow earliest on record and its [sic] snowing here right now!â [Twitter, 12/1/09, via Media Matters]
Bolling: Snow âBreaking Al Gore's Heart Becauseâ It's âBurying His Global Warming Theory.â On Your World, Bolling stated: âThe mid-Atlantic region on the verge of breaking all-time records for snowfall, up to 16 inches already falling in parts of Maryland, and it's not just the Northeast. Sixty-three percent of the country is now covered in snow and it's breaking Al Gore's heart because the snow is also burying his global warming theory.â [Fox News, Your World, 2/10/10, via Media Matters]
Bolling Suggested Snow Disproves Global Warming. On Fox & Friends, referring to the 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Bolling stated: âI think, a couple of years ago, they were in Washington. It was snowed out. The global warming issue wasn't, I guess, a factor there. But they solved that problem going to Cancun.â [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 12/9/09, via Media Matters]
Bolling: âThe Globe Gets Warmer And It Gets Cooler.â On his Fox Business show, Bolling repeatedly cited a Newsweek article from 1975, saying the article is proof that âthe globe gets warmer and it gets cooler and it's not a matter of one direction or the other.â Bolling also referred to the manufactured âClimategateâ scandal, saying that âa climate center in England basically said, hey, let's hide some of the science in these e-mails, let's make sure we don't expose all, you know, the science.â [Fox Business, Follow the Money, 1/11/11, via Media Matters]
Bolling: âThirty Years Ago, We Worried About Global Cooling. Now We're Worried About Global Warming.â During an interview with Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), Bolling read headlines from 1974 about cooling temperatures and stated, âThirty years ago, we worried about global cooling. Now we're worried about global warming. Is this not just the global cooling and warming over the course of 30-year periods?â [Fox News, Your World, 2/11/10, via Media Matters]
Bolling: âI Think We Warm And We Cool. It's The Globe.â Discussing a Rasmussen poll asking respondents, "[H]ow likely is it that some scientists have falsified research data?" Bolling stated: âListen, you know where I stand on this. I'm not -- I think we warm and we cool. It's the globe.â [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 12/4/09, via Media Matters]
Bolling Suggested There Is No Proof The Globe Is Warming. Discussing clean energy on February 2, 2011, Bolling stated: âIt used to be cold in the '60s. Is there any proof of -- I mean, again, you say we should all agree that the globe is warming. I'm not sure I agree with that assessment.â His guest, Brian Sussman, a radio host and author of Climategate: A Veteran Meteorologist Exposes The Global Warming Scam, replied: âNo, no. The globe warms and it cools, and right now, we may indeed be going into a cooling phase.â Bolling interjected: âExactly.â [Fox Business, Follow the Money, 2/2/11, via Media Matters]
Bolling: âHonestly, It Was Global Warming, And Then Things Got Cold So They Called It 'Climate Change.'â During the same February 2, 2011, segment, Branden Daly, former communications director for Rep. Nancy Pelosi, pointed out: âGlobal warming is also known as climate change. So, scientists have told us that not only are there gonna be more extreme summers, that sometimes we'll have more severe winter storms, as well. So, just the fact that we've had a severe storm in the Midwest doesn't mean that it's not climate change.â Bolling replied: âMr. Daly, honestly -- honestly, it was global warming, and then things got cold so they called it 'climate change.' â Bolling added, âIt's not unlike -- not unlike the Obama administration sort of first saying that the stimulus plan, the $800 billion stimulus plan, was going to create 4 million jobs and then it was 3 million jobs and then it was 2 million jobs, and then it was 'save or create' and no one could figure out what that means.â [Fox Business, Follow the Money, 2/2/11, via Media Matters]
Bolling Revived Debunked Climate Email Claim In Attack On Scientist. Bolling used a grant awarded under the stimulus bill to climate scientist Michael Mann to revive the debunked claim that emails stolen from the Climatic Research Unit at East Anglia University, some of which were written by Mann, undermine the scientific consensus on manmade global warming. His guest, Tom Borelli, further stated that Mann was âat the centerâ of the controversy, adding, "[T]hese emails that they're all looking at, it seems like the scientists themselves don't believe there's such a consensus because they have their conclusion that man's causing it, and now they're trying to ram the data to force-fit it. It's the round peg in the square hole." Bolling did not disclose the fact that Borelli's organization, the National Center for Public Policy Research, has received funding from the oil industry. [Fox News, Glenn Beck, 1/15/10, via Media Matters]
For the truth about climate science, click here
Bolling Has A Long Track Record Of False Claims About The Economy And Taxes
Bolling Claimed The Stimulus Has âDone Nothing To Help The Economy.â On the September 1, 2010, edition of Fox & Friends, Bolling claimed that the stimulus has âdone nothing to help the economyâ and that âthe economy is far worse than it was when we signed over $750 billion that turned into $862 billion.â Bolling added, âForget the other programs, it's literally trillions of dollars of economic stimulus that aren't working.â [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 9/1/10, via Media Matters]
For the truth about Bolling's stimulus claims, click here
Bolling: âHalf Of Filers [Who Make] Over $250,000 Will Be Small Businesses.â On the November 19, 2010, episode of America's Newsroom, Bolling and co-host Bill Hemmer discussed the debate over extending the Bush tax cuts for those making more than $250,000 a year. Bolling claimed, âHalf of the filers over $250,000 will be small business. So they'll be affected.â [Fox News, America's Newsroom, 11/19/10, via Media Matters]
For the truth about Bolling's small business tax claims, click here
Fox's Bolling Called For Abolishing IRS, Establishing âFair Tax.â During the February 16, 2011, edition of America's Newsroom, Bolling said: âWe've been talking a lot about this on my show. A fair tax would eliminate the IRS completely.â [Fox News, America's Newsroom, 2/16/11, via Media Matters]
Bolling Repeated Talking Point That U.S. Has âEither First Or Second Highestâ Corporate Tax Rate In The World. Bolling asserted on the January 26, 2011, edition of America's Newsroom that the U.S. corporate tax rate is âeither first or second highestâ in the world. [Fox News, America's Newsroom, 1/26/11, via Media Matters]
For the truth about the U.S. corporate tax rate, click here
Fox's Bolling: Social Security âKind Of Like A Ponzi Scheme ... They Should Rename It The Madoff Social Security System.â During the August 14, 2009, edition of Fox News' The Live Desk, Bolling said that Social Security is âkind of like a Ponzi scheme. ... It's almost like they should rename it the Madoff Social Security system.â [Fox News, The Live Desk, 8/14/09]
Bolling Claimed House Health Bill Puts Us "$1.2 Trillion Further In Debt." On the November 9, 2009, edition of Glenn Beck, Bolling claimed of the House health care reform bill, âIf the Congressional Budget Office is right and the government program actually costs what they tell you it will cost,â then we âwoke up Sunday morning $1.2 trillion further in debt.â [Media Matters, 11/9/09]
For the truth about the budget effects of health care reform, click here
Bolling Attacked Obama For His Decision To Stop Receiving Daily In-Person Economic Briefings. On the June 7, 2011, edition of Follow the Money, Bolling claimed that âthe daily vital economic briefings have disappeared from the president's scheduleâ and that âthe economy ... not a huge priority for the president.â [Fox Business, Follow the Money, 6/7/11, via Media Matters]
For the truth about Obama's economic briefings, click here
Bolling Claimed â43 Percent Of Households Don't Pay Any Federal Tax.â On the March 10, 2010, edition of Fox & Friends, Bolling claimed that â43 percent of [American] households don't pay any federal taxâ to suggest that âsocialismâ is coming if the nation doesn't change course. [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 3/10/10 via Media Matters]
For the truth about federal taxes, click here
Bolling Credited Bush Tax Cuts For Job Growth. On the April 2, 2011, edition of Bulls & Bears, Bolling cited job growth figures in the first two months of 2011 and said: âWhat happened right before that? Well, we extended the Bush tax cuts going forward -- it has a lot to do with that.â [Fox News, Bulls & Bears, 4/2/11 via Media Matters]
Bolling Claimed Only 595,000 Jobs Have Been Created By The Stimulus. On Fox & Friends, Bolling claimed of stimulus money: "$272 billion has been spent," but only â595,000 jobs [have been] created.â He added that âthat's $450,000 per job.â [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 2/16/10, via Media Matters]
For the truth about the stimulus, click here
Bolling Hyped Falsehood That Federal Employees' Compensation Doubles That Of Private Sector. On the June 1, 2011, edition of America's Newsroom, Bolling used a USA Today article to falsely claim that âfederal employees make double their private counterparts.â [Media Matters, 6/1/11]
For the truth about public sector compensation, click here
Bolling Claimed Giving People 99 Weeks Of Unemployment Is âThe Nanny Stateâ And âWe Need To Scale It Back.â On the December 17, 2010, edition of America's Newsroom, Bolling claimed that extending unemployment benefits to 99 weeks is âway too long, scale it back.â Bolling further claimed that âit's the nanny state, we need to scale it back.â [Fox News, America's Newsroom, 12/17/11, via Media Matters]
Bolling Claimed Americans Deliberately Remaining Unemployed. On Fox News' Your World, while criticizing a proposal to extend unemployment insurance and tax credits to subsidize health insurance for the unemployed, Bolling appeared to suggest that a large number of workers deliberately stay unemployed in order to take advantage of unemployment benefits. [Media Matters, 2/12/10]
âCrush Collective Bargainingâ: Bolling Targets Labor Unions
Bolling: âWe Don't Need Unions Anymore.â On the January 15, 2011, edition of Bulls & Bears, Bolling told a panel, âWe don't need unions anymore.â [Fox News, Bulls & Bears, 1/15/11, via Media Matters]
Bolling: What The GOP Did In Wisconsin Was âFantastic.â On the March 10, 2011, edition of Fox & Friends, Bolling told the co-hosts that what the GOP legislature did in Wisconsin -- passing anti-union legislation to take collective bargaining rights away from public employees -- was âfantastic.â [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 3/10/11, via Media Matters]
Bolling Called For NFL To Follow Gov. Walker's Lead And âCrush Collective Bargaining.â In a March 11, 2011, tweet, Bolling wrote that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, in pushing anti-union legislation, âdoes what the NFL should do...crush collective bargaining.â [Twitter, 3/11/11, via Media Matters]
Bolling Has Made False Claims Regarding Obama And Foreign Policy
Bolling: âI Can't Remember Everâ When A President Said âIsrael Back Off Your Border.â On the May 20, 2011, edition of Follow the Money, Bolling stated, âI can't remember everâ when a president said âIsrael, back off your border.â [Fox Business, Follow the Money, 5/20/11, via Media Matters]
For the truth about U.S. policy on the borders of Israel and Palestine, click here
Bolling Attacked Obama's India Trip Based On Price Tag White House Called âWildly Inflated.â On the November 3, 2010, edition of Follow the Money, Bolling said that Obama would be taking a trip to India that would cost â200 million per day.â [Fox Business, Follow the Money, 11/3/10]
For the truth about the cost of Obama's trip, click here
Bolling Hyped Debunked ACORN Videos, Attacked ACORN
Bolling Hyped Breitbart-Promoted ACORN Videos, Praised Discredited Filmmaker O'Keefe. On the November 20, 2009, edition of Fox Business' Happy Hour, Bolling promoted videos made by discredited conservative activist James O'Keefe that claimed to show wrongdoing by ACORN employees, and praised O'Keefe, saying, âI'm all for this, you know, dressing up and catching them.â [Fox Business, Happy Hour, 11/20/09, via Media Matters]
For the truth about O'Keefe's ACORN videos click here
Bolling Suggested Footage Of Chanting ACORN Protesters âLooks A Little Bit More Mobâ Than Town Hall Disruptions. While guest hosting the August 7, 2009, edition of Glenn Beck, Bolling declared that footage of ACORN protesters âlooks a little bit more mobâ than protesters at health care town halls. [Media Matters, 8/7/09]