Fox News has an Eric Bolling problem. As Media Matters has documented, the Fox host has cast doubt on the legitimacy of President Obama's long-form birth certificate; has repeatedly made racially charged remarks to attack Obama; and routinely bungles facts in both Fox's so-called “opinion” and “news” hours.
Today, Bolling is drawing fire again for crass comments he made in regard to recently deceased anchor Mark Haines. As TVNewser noted, Bolling tweeted last night:
TVNewser's Chris Ariens accurately responded to Bolling's insensitive remarks by writing: “Really? To claim you've outranked a man who died a month ago ... on a list Mark Haines probably never knew existed? That's some serious class. Wonder what Roger Ailes -- who was among those paying respects after Haines' sudden death last month -- thinks about this."
Bolling also posted the same comments on his Facebook page and added in his comments section, “now if I could just get past the retired hosts! : )” After a Facebook fan remarked that Beck is leaving his Fox News program, Bolling wrote: “Tell me about it... the man is a visionary. I'll miss him a lot.”
That Bolling is describing Beck as a “visionary” isn't surprising, given that Bolling has copied some of Beck's shtick and has served as one of Beck's guest hosts. Bolling has been mentioned by several media outlets as a potential replacement for Beck's 5pm ET slot.
Bolling previously worked at CNBC with Haines. In an interview with Media Matters, former CNBC anchor Ted David questioned whether Bolling had the experience to be a cable host, adding, “I never thought he was especially bright or especially skilled or astute.”