Herschel Walker may be currently locked in a fierce election battle with Sen. Raphael Warnock over a hotly contested Senate seat, but that hasn’t stopped him from capturing America’s hearts with his downhome mispronunciations. Did we say hearts? We meant ears.
Herschel raised more than a few eyebrows when he appeared live on Fox News recently sandwiched between Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Lindsey Graham. “Well, first of all, this election is about more than Herschel Walker,” he said. “This erection is about the people.”
The hot takes started pouring in and Walker took a beating for the gaffe. Turns out that’s not the only time we’ve had this issue with the former NFL player.
“This Dude Needs Hooked On Phonics,” one Twitter user said, posting a clip of Walker struggling with the word “Accolades.”
And the verbal gaffes are just one link in the chain of Walker’s controversial alleged past issues. He’s been faced with allegations of domestic violence as well.
His ex-wife Cindy Grossman accused the would be Senator of trying to kill her; once by holding a razor to her throat and once with a gun to her head, according to Politifact. A judge granted a restraining order against Walker, saying he was “a clear and present danger of family violence.”
He was never charged or arrested, and he’s claimed he simply doesn’t remember the incidents. He’s also accused of pressuring women to get abortions despite his militant anti-choice stance on the issue. The woman provided The New York Times with a receipt for the procedure, and a get well card and check both signed by Walker.
In terms of policy experience, Walker argued that clean air from the United States floated to China, making investments to combat pollution unnecessary. This is contrary to science. He also said that inflation was a women’s issue because “they’ve got to buy groceries.”
Despite all of this, and despite Atlanta voting largely for Democratic candidates in recent years, the rest of the state is very red, and there’s a decent chance Walker will win the race. The former chair of the Georgia Republican Party, Ralph Reed, told Vox that people are underestimating Walker’s chances.
“I think in this race, it’s going to be down for Herschel to the suburban white, college-educated voters, especially women. If those voters, who are now voting for [Governor Brian Kemp] in big numbers, break for Herschel, he’ll win,” he said.