Determined to make the comeback stronger than the setback, television personality and political commentator Eric Bolling is back in action. He’s even got a new show on CRTV called “America with Eric Bolling.” But the path to get to this point was anything but easy — it was full of heartbreak and tragedy.
The return of Bolling is remarkable considering the personal tragedy that he and his wife Adrienne experienced less than a year ago when their only child Chase, a student at the University of Colorado, died from an accidental overdose.
The pain associated with the loss of a child is unimaginable and something that no parent ever wants to experience. But less than a year after tragedy, to see Bolling traveling the country giving speeches (pro bono) and publishing articles addressing this opioid crisis head-on are nothing short of inspiring. He’s taken on this new role as the “accidental” expert with so much passion and energy that even President Trump is asking his advice on how to deal with this national public health emergency. Last February, Bolling spoke at the White House during the opioid summit.
[Related: Eric Bolling plans a second bus tour, seeks to remove stigma of opioid addiction]
America is at war, but not in the traditional sense. The battlefield? Our communities. The enemy? Opioids.
The war on opioids has already taken the lives of 42,249 Americans — and that’s just in 2016. In 2015, that number was 33,091. Now let’s put this in perspective. During the Vietnam War, we lost 58,193 soldiers over a 20-year period. In 1968, the deadliest year of the war, we lost 16,592 soldiers.
In Kane County, Ill., an affluent community west of Chicago where I grew up, opioid overdose deaths have risen 204 percent between 2014-17. In 2014, Coroner Rob Russell recorded 22 deaths related to an opioid overdose. In 2017 that number was 67. And this year according to Russell, the numbers unfortunately are trending 10 percent higher than they did in previous years.
Last December, Kane County States Attorney Joe McMahon joined his colleagues in four other suburban counties in Illinois to file lawsuits against pharmaceutical manufacturers and local doctors for damages related to the opioid epidemic. “Over the last six years, 257 people in Kane County have died from opioid use,” McMahon said during a press conference. “That is more than all the gang, domestic violence, murders, and reckless homicides combined over that same time period.”
But Bolling is just getting started, and so is his new show on CRTV. And so it was only fitting that “America with Eric Bolling” premiered on July 4 in Washington, D.C. And unlike traditional shows that are filmed in a studio, “America” is filmed live, three days a week in the nation’s capital, and in a place where you’d expect people discussing current events and the day’s breaking news – a bar. In this setting, audience participation isn’t only encouraged, it’s expected – a place where everyone has a voice.
In the first month since the premiere, Bolling has had a diverse and high-profile list of guests on his show, including former Trump campaign manager and trusted Trump confidante Corey Lewandowski, former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, former deputy assistant to the president Sebastian Gorka, counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway, and White House director of strategic communications Mercedes Schlapp.
But more than a lineup featuring just political commentary and political guests, Bolling is using his show to continue raising awareness about the opioid crisis. In April he teamed up with Rick Ware Racing and NASCAR to promote the Race to Erase Opioids. And in July during the “Bolling Bus Tour,” he filmed his show live from Daytona International Speedway just before the start of the Coke Zero 400. During the race he was in the pit with the Rick Ware Racing team cheering on the No. 51 car, which was sponsored with “America with Eric Bolling” and the “Race to Erase Opioids” decals.
The comeback is stronger than the setback, and every day Bolling is out there proving it. This “accidental” expert is creating awareness and facilitating a discussion about the opioid crisis that is not only welcomed in our country, but also necessary. And he’s leveraging every resource and platform available to get out the message.
We’ve heard a lot about “fake” news and “real” news, but I’d consider adding one more: “lifesaving” news. In this new form of news, Bolling is a pioneer.
Mark Vargas (@MarkAVargas) is a tech entrepreneur, political adviser, former GOP congressional candidate and contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog.
