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Walker clashes with debate moderator over ‘prop’ used to rebuff Warnock accusation: ‘This is real’

October 15, 2022 | | Print Article

Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker’s debate this Friday against incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock briefly went off the rails after Warnock accused him of being a pretend police officer and of having once threatened a shoot-out of actual police officers.

“One thing I have not done — I’ve never pretended to be a police officer. And I’ve never threatened a shoot-out with the police,” Warnock said to him, prompting loud laughter from the Democrat lawmaker’s groupies in the audience.

In response, Walker pulled out a police badge, prompting even more laughter.

“And now I have to respond to that. And you know what’s so funny? I have worked with many police officers, and at the same time …,” he then said before being cut off by the moderator, Tina Tyus-Shaw.

“Mr. Walker, excuse me, Mr. Walker. Please, out of respect, I need to let you know, Mr. Walker, you are very well aware of the rules tonight. And you have a prop. That is not allowed, sir. I ask you to put that prop away,” Tyus-Shaw complained.

“Well, this is not a prop. This is real. And he said I have a problem and I never worked in law enforcement,” Walker responded.

“Mr. Walker, excuse me, sir. You’re very well aware of the rules, aren’t you? Aren’t you?” Tyus-Shaw persisted.

“Well, he brought up the truth, so let’s talk about the truth,” Walker replied before putting away the badge.

What remains unclear is where exactly Walker got the badge from and whether or not it’s actually real.

Leftist critics, for their part, believe it’s a fake “prop” badge:

However, according to prominent conservative commentator Erick Erickson, the badge is a 100 percent real honorary badge that Walker earned while working with the Cobb County Sheriff’s Department.

“BTW, Herschel Walker’s badge is actually real. He was made an honorary deputy sheriff in Cobb County, Georgia, and spent 15 years helping that department and discussing with deputies how to handle mental health situations. But I know facts don’t matter on Twitter,” Erickson tweeted after Friday’s debate.

Look:

This appears to be backed by a testimonial from retired Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren, who endorsed Walker in July.

“Herschel Walker partnered with the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office for over 15 years while I was sheriff. He led trainings on leadership, advocated for mental health, encouraged countless officers, and was always there to lend a hand whenever we needed him. I was proud to name him as an honorary deputy sheriff due to his tireless efforts in support of law enforcement,” the endorsement reads.

“Now more than ever, officers across Georgia need a senator who will have their backs, no matter what. The men and women in law enforcement put their lives on the line every day to serve our citizens, but time and time again, Senator Warnock has continued to let us down,” it continues.

Yet the media have claimed the exact opposite.

“The department told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that there was no record of him working there,” The New York Times reported Friday.

See what the paper did? They said there’s “no record of him working there.” Indeed, Walker never “worked” there. He reportedly worked with the department.

This is a common tactic used by the left-wing press and its so-called “fact-checkers” to question the legitimacy of otherwise legitimate Republican talking points.

All this said, Warnock’s other claim that Walker had once threatened a shoot-out with the police is, it would appear, based on some truth.

“One warm fall evening in 2001, police in Irving, Texas, received an alarming call from Herschel Walker’s therapist. The football legend and current Republican Senate candidate in Georgia was ‘volatile,’ armed and scaring his estranged wife at the suburban Dallas home they no longer shared,” the Associated Press notes.

“Officers took cover outside, noting later that Walker had ‘talked about having a shoot-out with police.’ Then they ordered the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner and onetime Dallas Cowboy to step out of the home, according to a police report obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request.”

And so he talked about having a shoot-out with the police, but it’s unclear whether he’d meant that as a threat or if he’d just been blowing off steam. And as a reminder, this happened over two decades ago.

Vivek Saxena
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