ADVERTISEMENT

Meet The Chicago Floor Trader Who Helped Inspire The Tea Party Movement

Meet The Chicago Floor Trader Who Helped Inspire The Tea Party Movement

Every week, hosts Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway take you on a not-so-random walk through hot topics in markets, finance and economics.

A pivotal moment in U.S. political history is when CNBC's Rick Santelli went on a gigantic rant against Obama's stimulus programs while on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade. The rant is credited by some as having helped galvanize the Tea Party movement, which rapidly became highly influential within the Republican party. Standing next to Santelli was a floor trader, Eric Wilkinson, who joined along in the rant, and become a player in his own right in the story. On this week's episode, we talk to Wilkinson about his background, the day of the rant, and how a conversation that he had had earlier that morning with Santelli influenced that moment. 

 

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Topher Forhecz at tforhecz@bloomberg.net

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.