Herschel Walker sits in his dining room in Atlanta. Her blue shirt is adorned with an American flag folded into a triangle. Below that is the word "Folds of Honor". This is a charitable organization that raises funds for the children of military personnel who have been killed or injured.
"I was really impressed with their work. I also love shirts," Walker said with a disarmed smile.
It's easy to see why Walker, a professional soccer runningback who won the Heissman Trophy in 1982, was easily nominated by the Republican US Senator in Georgia in May. So far, the 60-year-old candidate has been endorsed by both former president and longtime friend Donald TrumpandSenate minority leader Mitch McConnell. Walker's opponent, Senator Rafael Warnock of the Democratic Party, isleading by 1.5 percentage points according to the current polling average, while some expertsare. I feel the race is even tougher.
Walker admitted to me that he didn't sound like a typical politician. And he's okay with that.
Most people are pretty tired of politicians, "I'm tired of it," he said.
"We talk about borders, and how much we talk about school choices. We talk about guns. We talk about this all the time. Well, maybe they need some outsiders to come up with some better ideas now. "
Walker's Senatorrecently published He litand made his two sons "secretly" fathers, which he did not publicly recognize. One is 13 years old and lives in Texas with his mother. The other was 10 years old and was born of a woman who went to court to declare her father and support her child. (Walker also has a very prominent 22-year-old sonChristian Walker, who played a role in his political activities, and his daughter Emily, now in her late thirties, was his father. Walker was accused of falsehood
in light of previous criticisms of the "fatherless house" in the black community. "I want to apologize to the African-American community, because a home without a father is a big problem," Walker said in 2020. In a 2019 interview with Diamond and Silk, he added that he "needs to be a father" in the neighborhood. "They don't have them." Children's.
But Walker claims he never hid his two sons. In fact, the president's fitness council, Trump's federal advisory board to promote a healthy life. When he appointed him to the meeting, he disclosed all four children, but after Walker decided to run for public office, he respected their privacy and the privacy of his mother, and most He said he didn't talk about the two younger ones.
"I didn't want them to be political props," he said in a statement to the post. I knew people would come after me when I entered politics, but I ask them to exclude my children from this.
"I have four children and I love each one." He added. Being a father is one of the greatest achievements of my life. "
Walker, who divorced his first wife, Cindy Grossman, a Christian mother, is now married to Julie Walker, who has no children. In 2005 Grossman accused Walker of violent behaviour, but he is now friends with them. And he said he successfully made their son a co-parent.
Meanwhile, Warnock faces his own domestic problems. The Senator and Chief Pastor of the Eveniser Baptist Church recently requested the court to seal his divorce case.
In short, Walker's competition with Warnock is in November. It can be one of the most controversial and important in the interim period. Democrats spend millions of dollars keeping Warnock in the office just to maintain a slim majority of 51/50 in the Senate. Meanwhile, Republicans are betting on Walker to regain power at the Chamber of Commerce.
However, Walker argues that his attack on Warnock remains political rather than personal, and instead focuses on the policies of President Byden and his Democratic Parliament. ..
"I didn't want them to be political props. I knew people would come after me when I entered politics. But I ask them to exclude my children from now on. "
Herschel Walker explains why he didn't publicly admit two of his four children. increase.
"Gas prices, inflation, border crises, spending, crime. To be honest, we can't live this way, who just sits down. I don't know if I can say "Oh, everything is fine". it's not.
Walker vs. Warnock is also a rare election where both candidates are African-American. And on that issue, Walker said he wasn't afraid to challenge those who wouldn't call him racial discriminators.
"How to try to cancel people" . Make everyone believe that we [Republicans] are all terrible. May we all be these racial discriminators and bad people. And I all know racial discrimination. I grew up around it. "
Walker is just as straightforward about abortion. While Warnock is a pro choice, he has a pro life aloud. Roe v, especially among African-Americans. With the Wade reversing, abortion is expected to become an important issue for Georgia voters in November. Traditionally, blacks did not favor abortion more than whites, but these views have changed over the last two decades, and in some studies blacks are more of a choice than whites. It has been shown that there is room.
But for Walker, abortion is a very personal matter for him. "I'm not ashamed of it on the campaign trail. You have to understand that I'm from a church town. Everything in the town is church-centric."
In a small town in Lightsville, Georgia, seven brothers, Walker, He was a stupid, overweight kid who overcame his personal difficulties to become a star not only in soccer but also in tracks and Olympic bobling.
"I always tell people that my mother said she was fat and big bones. I wasfat. Previously, I could put together a sentence. I went back until I couldn't, so for years of my life I never went out for a break, and for years of my life I was bullied a lot at school Was, "he said.
"One day after school, when I was beaten by this second-year middle school kid, my life changed. I went home crying, and when I got home," that's enough. You won't be beaten anymore. "That was the day I started exercising. That day, I went to the library, got a book, read myself in the mirror, and helped me squirm.
In high school, Walker is on track and in soccer It was excellent. At the University of Georgia, he has become a three-time national champion in both sports. He won the Highsman Trophy and was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
In 1983, Walker began his professional career as General New Jersey. Participating in the US Football League at the time allowed college athletes to turn professional three years later. (Trump acquired the team in 1984.) In 1985, Walker moved to NFL, first joining the Dallas Cowboys, then the Minnesota Vikings, then the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants, and finally back to Dallas. I retired. 1997. Despite his skill and his long career, he never won the Super Bowl.
In 1999, Walker founded Renaissance Man Food Service, a chicken distribution company. This forced Walker to go public and spend a lot of time rushing through the airport.
"Sometimes I arrived late, slept overnight at the airport and left the next morning, so I boarded the plane," he recalled. "People thought I really needed ajob, but [but] I didn't need a job because my parents taught me how to work hard. ..
In 2008, Walker elaborated on the fight against dissociative identity disorders (multiple personality disorders due to unresolved childhood trauma) in his memoir"Breaking Free."He also visited military bases across the country to talk about mental health.
"It was all the effort to get rid of the stigma of admitting that we were working on the problem and dealing with it," he said. "[Mental health] is a problem that no one wants or is ready to deal with, but it affects so many things in our society."
Walker is likable, friendly and real air helps his connection with voters. And this may be his "secret" formula to win the election.
"He's very cheeky," said Joe Cobb, a Republican executive on the outskirts of Atlanta. "He seems to have had a mental problem, and it's difficult for anyone of his height to do it.
"He is not a politician," he added. "It is Herschel's strength to be your strength and not a politician in this era."
I agree with Eric Quarkson, a conservative radio host based in Atlanta. The media said, "I don't understand how volatile voters are overcoming inflation, borders, crime, etc., because they don't want to bring the people who caused this back to the office. Take risks with outsiders. "
Walker said he has prayed at every stage of his personal journey, whether football, business or politics. He said that faith is the basis of everything he has achieved. When he decided to run for the Senate, he said he had listened to both gods and voters throughout the state.
"People were like'what'," I said. '”
During the listening session, Walker , "70% of the medicines that flow into the United States pass through Atlanta, where people have come and go. Fentanil is killing and increasing crime, but we still haven't dealt with it."
In 2010, the DOJ reported that the Atlantaregion is the leading bulk cash integration center for Mexican drug trading organizations operating in the eastern United States. Recently, the Georgia Department of Public Healthreported a 106% surge in fentanil-related deaths between May 2020 and April 2021
.Walker's positionfinally discussesWarnock before the election. His performance will probably be scrutinized as he refused to discuss the Republican challenger at the Primary.
However, despite his unconventional background and lack of political experience, many Georgian political observers say this is Walker's competition to be defeated in November. Sure, he may be a little annoying, but "everything works against the Democratic Party, especially in Georgia," says Ericsson, who is now completely behind Walker, despite early bookings. I did. “After spending some time in the state, you'll see why Warnock is having problems.”
Walker feels the same about the confrontation with Warnock.
"As I said to everyone, everyone knows I can beat this guy," he said.
