Former Fox News host Eric Bolling shared the heartbreaking story of getting the call that his son, Eric Chase Bolling, had passed away after overdosing on opioids.
His message was shared via video to the White House Opioids Summit on Thursday, hosted by President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania.
Bolling described his son as a normal teenager who loved baseball and was excited to be going to college at the University of Colorado.
Bolling and his wife learned of their son’s passing while they were returning home after a date at a restaurant. On the way home, Bolling received a call informing him of his son’s passing.
The young man was 19 years old.
“We never saw it coming,” said Bolling. “We never thought we would get that call. Every parent doesn’t want it.”
Watch the video below:
President Trump spoke at the Summit about his strong feelings toward the criminals pushing these illegal drugs.
“It’s a problem that’s growing,” he said. “And drugs are a similar but different problem, in the sense that we have pushers and we have drug dealers that don’t, I mean, they kill hundreds and hundreds of people, and most of them don’t even go to jail.”
He added, “You know, if you shoot one person, they give you life, they give you the death penalty. These people can kill 2,000, 3,000 people and nothing happens to them.”
First Lady Melania also shared her thoughts on the growing crisis.
“Everyone in this room knows that our country is in the middle of the opioid crisis,” she said. “And I’m so proud of the work that this administration has already done to combat this epidemic. We all know there is still much work to be done, which is why you’re all here today.”
Mrs. Trump continued, “I know one panel will focus on the supply side of this crisis, and the other panel will focus on the prevention, treatment, and recovery. Our unified goal is that of helping all who have been affected by drug addiction. And, for me, that means focusing on babies and young mothers, which is something I have been often seeing in my travels.”
Eric Bolling had previously spoken with the president about the opioid crisis in January, stressing that Trump had “empathy and compassion” for victims and their families.