Heisman Trophy winner and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Herschel Walker speaks to supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump during a rally at the Banks County Dragway in Commerce, Ga., on March 26, 2022. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)
Former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party stood by Herschel Walker, the GOP nominee for Senate in Georgia after a media report alleged that the pro-life candidate paid for a woman’s abortion in 2009.
Trump said Walker—whom he called a patriot and an “American First” candidate in his 2021 endorsement—has been “slandered and maligned by the Fake News Media and obviously, the Democrats,” according to a statement issued through the Save America political action committee on Oct. 4 and shared on the former president’s Truth Social account.
“They are trying to destroy a man who has true greatness in his future, just as he had athletic greatness in his past. It’s very important for our Country and the Great State of Georgia that Herschel Walker wins this Election,” Trump added.
Walker, a former NFL running back, is challenging incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), who unseated Republican Kelly Loeffler in the Senate runoff race for Georgia’s special election in 2021.
“Interestingly, I’ve heard many horrible things about his opponent, Raphael Warnock, things that nobody should be talking about, so we don’t,” Trump continued. “Herschel has properly denied the charges against him, and I have no doubt he is correct.”
Former football player and political candidate Herschel Walker interacts with former U.S. President Donald Trump prior to Game Four of the World Series between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park in Atlanta, Ga., on Oct. 30, 2021. (Michael Zarrilli/Getty Images)
On Oct. 3, The Daily Beast reported that Walker urged his girlfriend to abort a child the two conceived in 2009 and later reimbursed her with a $700 check for the procedure. The outlet did not identify the woman but it obtained a bank deposit receipt of Walker’s check and published a “get well” card he sent.
The outlet said it “independently corroborated” the woman’s story with her close friend, who claimed to take care of the woman for days after the alleged abortion on Sept. 12, 2009.
The Epoch Times has not independently verified The Daily Beast’s report.
Walker has denied the allegation, calling it a “Democrat attack.”
“This is a flat-out-lie—and I deny this in the strongest possible terms,” Walker stated in a statement. “This is another repugnant hatchet job from a democrat activist disguised as a reporter who obsessively attacked my family and tried to tear me down since this race started.”
“I [am] planning to sue the Daily Beast for this defamatory lie,” Walker added.
Speaking to Fox News’s Sean Hannity on Monday night, Walker criticized the Democrats for trying to shift people’s attention.
“This [Senate] seat is very important, they’ll do anything to win the seat,“ Walker said. ”They want to make it about everything else except for the true problems that we have in this country,” adding a list of problems facing the United States: inflation, the border, and crime.
A GOP victory by Walker is pivotal for Republicans’ chances of taking back their majority in the Senate. Meanwhile, a Warnock victory would mean that the Republican Party’s goal of winning a Senate majority would heavily rest upon Mehmet Oz’s senate bid in Pennsylvania.
Republicans
Several key figures in the Republican Party have voiced support for Walker, including Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), chairman of the National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC).
“When the Democrats are losing, as they are right now, they lie and cheat and smear their opponents. That’s what’s happening right now. They know they are on the verge of losing the Senate, and they know that Herschel Walker is winning, so they have cranked up the smear machine,” Scott said in a statement.
Scott added, “Herschel has denied these allegations and the NRSC and Republicans stand with him, and Georgians will stand with him too.”
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) speaks to reporters in Washington on Aug. 6, 2020. (Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images)
Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), took to Twitter to say The Daily Beast report “is an attempt to distract from Warnock’s record of failure resulting in rising costs and out of control crime.”
“Herschel Walker will deliver a safer and more prosperous Georgia, and the RNC will continue to invest in the Senate race,” McDaniel added.
Also on Oct. 4, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kans.) wrote on Twitter that Walker “is the key to a Republican majority & the only thing that stops Biden’s reckless agenda once & for all.”
“Voters know this election is about the cost of gas & groceries, border security & parents being back in control of schools,” Marshall added. “Everything else is a distraction.”
The Georgia Republican Party said it stands with Walker “all the way” on Twitter.
“Democrats know that Raphael Warnock is in lockstep with Biden,” it added. “They know they are in danger of losing the Senate. So, they write bogus stories.”
Walker’s Son
However, Walker’s 23-year-old son, Christian Walker, took to Twitter to criticize his father Oct. 3, about two hours after The Daily Beast published its report.
“I know my mom and I would really appreciate if my father Herschel Walker stopped lying and making a mockery of us.
“You’re not a ‘family man,’" Christian Walker said in a post on Twitter, adding allegations of extra-marital affairs and domestic violence.
Christian Walker’s criticism came as a surprise, considering that he spoke at his father’s campaign rally in December. A day after the event, he took to Twitter to say he “had the honor of introducing” his father at Mar-a-Lago.
Heisman Trophy winner and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Herschel Walker speaks at a rally in Athens, Ga., on May 23, 2022. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)
Christian Walker has a huge presence on social media. He has over 280,000 followers on Twitter, more than 168,000 on TikTok, and over 500,000 on Instagram. He is known for supporting the Republican Party and conservative values.
“I LOVE my son no matter what,” Herschel Walker posted on Twitter on Oct. 3.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misstated the number of followers Christian Walker has on TikTok. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
Frank Fang is a Taiwan-based journalist. He covers U.S., China, and Taiwan news. He holds a master's degree in materials science from Tsinghua University in Taiwan.
Friends Read Free