Eric Bolling: Fox's Conspiracy Man
Written by Melody Johnson
Published
Fox host Eric Bolling has recently pushed the conspiracy theory that Palestinians are timing their request for the United Nations to recognize their statehood status in order to make President Obama look “pro-Israel.” Bolling has repeatedly used his Fox platform to push conspiracy theories against the president.
Bolling Declares Palestinian Push For UN Statehood To Be A “Set Up” To Make Obama Look “Pro-Israel”
Bolling: “I'm Mad Because I Think This Is All A Set Up” To Make Obama Look “Pro-Israel.” During the September 19 edition of Fox News' The Five, co-host Eric Bolling said:
BOLLING: I'm mad because I think this is all a set up. I think this is -- the Palestinians say: “Hey, Mr. Obama, we want -- we're thinking about asking for statehood.” And they know very well the Obama administration is going to say “No way, not now, this is not the time.” And then when we go into the election Obama is going to go, “Oh, look what I did all you Israeli vote -- Israel, Jewish voters. Vote for me. I am pro-Israel.” Meanwhile, everything he's done is anti-Israel up until this point. [Fox News, The Five, 9/20/11, via Media Matters]
Bolling: “I Think This Is The Obama Administration Cutting A Deal With The Palestinian Authority” To Look “Pro-Israel.” On the September 20 edition of The Five, Bolling claimed:
BOLLING: I'm taking a little bit of heat yesterday and I stand by it, that I think this is the Obama administration cutting a deal with the Palestinian Authority to say, “Look, back off,” Obama says to the Palestinians, “Back off, we'll do this another time.” And then he could go into the 2012 election looking like he is pro-Israel which he hasn't been up until now. [Fox News, The Five, 9/20/11, via Media Matters]
Bolling Has A Long History Of Promoting Conspiracy Theories
BIRTHER CONSPIRACY
Bolling: “There Is A Legitimate Question As To Whether Or Not The President...Is Allowed To Be President.” After President Obama released his long-form birth certificate in April, Bolling claimed during the April 27 edition of his Fox Business program “that there is a legitimate question as to whether or not the president of the United States is allowed to be president of the United States” and that Obama's long-form birth certificate had “been altered.” From Follow the Money:
BOLLING: We haven't touched this birth certificate issue since it began. We haven't touched it, but there is a legitimate question as to whether or not the president of the United States is allowed to be president of the United States. It is written in the Constitution. You have to be a natural born citizen of America. I mean, it's an issue.
JUAN WILLIAMS: No, it isn't an issue, Eric. This issue has been settled since he was running for president even when he's in the Senate and produced the short form for people. Just never been an issue.
It's been something that has been elevated to some kind of -- they've used this as a surrogate I think to belittle the president. People who don't like his policies who think that they never voted for him, how can this guy be president. It is racially tinged. It is a damaging subject.
BOLLING: I just have tell you for purposefully, we didn't touch it because we didn't think it was an issue until I saw this document. When I saw the green border, the Photoshop border around the birth certificate, I said wait a minute.
This thing isn't a pure copy from a book, a ledger from Hawaii. This thing has been altered. Someone's playing with it. Once that came out, I said we have to at least ask the question Juan. That's all. We're not claiming it is ill legit whatever, but someone is playing around with this document. [Fox Business, Follow the Money, 4/27/11, via Nexis, emphasis added]
Bolling Hosted Birther Pamela Geller To Raise “Questions” About Obama's Long-Form Birth Certificate. During the April 27 edition of his Fox Business program, Bolling analyzed a blown-up version of Obama's long-form birth certificate with conservative blogger Pamela Geller. Bolling claimed part of the certificate “had to be Photoshopped in” and concluded there were “questions” surrounding the birth certificate's authenticity. From Follow the Money:
BOLLING: I need to know this. You see this fold. This has clearly been photocopied from a book. You see that. It kind of folds back almost like a binding of a book and for some reason, there's a green border around it that had to be Photoshoped in.
GELLER: Well this whole boarder is suspect. I mean, if you're taking a scan of something, 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 - when this was requested from the state registrar, Alvin Onacus. 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.
[Fox Business, Follow the Money, 4/27/11, via Media Matters]
OBAMA'S RURAL COUNCIL
Bolling Adopted Beck's “One World Order” U.N. Conspiracy. During the June 25 edition of his Fox Business show, Bolling attacked Obama's Rural Council as evidence of the implementation of a United Nations plan and the coming “one world order.” Bolling claimed that "[t]he aims of the White House Rural Development Plan sound eerily similar to a U.N. plan called Agenda 21 where a central planning agency would be responsible for oversight into all areas of our lives. A one world order." [Fox Business, Follow the Money, 6/25/11, via Media Matters]
For the truth about Agenda 21, CLICK HERE.
MOODY'S
Bolling: “I'm Going To Get Called Out As A Conspiracy Theorist On This,” But “There's Something Going On” Between The Tea Party And Moody's. During the July 31 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends Sunday, Bolling said:
BOLLING: I'm going to get called out for being a conspiracy theorist on this, but Moody's is the group who sat down before Boehner's plan was signed and before any of this thing, this stuff went on to - with the GOP freshmen who are heavily tea party. So now Moody's says, ' we're going to sit down with you, we're going to talk about this debt problem.' Why would they do that, Steve? Why wouldn't they just sit down with the house complete? Leadership -
STEVE DOOCY (co-host): Politics. Politics and money.
BOLLING: Of course. Moody's was leaning on the tea party to roll - there's something going on here. Behind the scenes. I don't know if, Moody's is you know, talking to the White House or talking to Biden saying, you know 'we'll do this,' for some -- whatever reason, but clearly Moody's - I would - let me put it this way: they're not going to downgrade US debt. [Fox News, Fox & Friends Sunday, 7/31/11]
PETROBRAS-SOROS CONSPIRACY
Bolling: “Did [Soros] Know? Does He Know” About $2 Billion Petrobras Deal? During a guest appearance on Fox News' Fox & Friends, Bolling revived the false conspiracy theory that Obama arranged for an Export-Import Bank loan to a Brazilian oil company in order to enrich George Soros at the expense of the United States. From the broadcast:
BOLLING: Okay. Let's do this. We're going to get blasted for this, but George Soros owned, at one point owned, 22 million shares of Petrobras, the company that has available to it those $2 billion in drilling loans. They haven't tapped it. It's available through the Import-Export Bank, which is in the U.S. It allows them to tap $2 billion.
Now, the question is, did he know? Does he know? Who knows? But I will tell you one thing, it's been a great trade for him. It's been very profitable and as everyone knows, George Soros is one of the big contributors to MoveOn.org, big contributor to the Obama--
KILMEADE: And did he know the president was going to say this $2 billion deal? That's what you're saying.
BOLLING: You know what, George Soros has the best information money can buy. I can't make that leap, but maybe he did. [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 3/24/11, via Media Matters]
For the truth about Petrobras, CLICK HERE.
GULF OIL SPILL
Bolling Wondered If Obama “Let” Oil Rig Leak So He “Could Renege On His Promise” To “Allow Offshore Drilling.” During the May 27, 2010, edition of Fox Business' Happy Hour, Bolling said:
BOLLING: Let me ask you this, alright, Alan, day one. That leak came and BP said there's about 42,000 gallons -- 1,000 gallons, barrels a day were leaking. About day nine, they said, you know, it looks like it's going to be 5,000 barrels per day, 210,000 gallons. Today, day 38, we find it's likely a million gallons a day.
Had the Obama administration gone in there, sent the Army Corps of Engineers into that hole, into that -- the, the, the dig, and find out that there's a million gallons a day, and BP had no way of stopping this, they may have started then, not day 38.
ALAN COLMES (Fox News contributor): But, you know, they went on the best information they had, day 4, day 5, day 9.
BOLLING: Are you sure they didn't let it --
CODY WILLARD (co-host): But they could have gotten better information.
BOLLING: Are you sure they didn't --
COLMES: Maybe or maybe not --
[crosstalk]
BOLLING: Are you sure they didn't let it leak so he could renege on his promise to, to, to allow some offshore drilling?
COLMES: Oh, that's what -- it's a big conspiracy. Hey, there's a black helicopter. Yeah, it's all about reneging on a permit, that's right.
Bolling previously suggested that the Obama administration could have “let” the oil rig leak for a length of time before “addressing it.” [Media Matters, 5/3/10, 5/27/10]