What to Know About Herschel Walker and His Headline-Grabbing Son as Trump Says He Should Run for Senate

Retired football star Herschel Walker could find himself in a new line of work — at least, if former President Donald Trump has anything to do with it.

Trump said this week he would like to see the college football legend enter next year's Georgia Senate race after the Republican incumbents were ousted in January.

"He would be unstoppable, just like he was when he played for the Georgia Bulldogs, and in the NFL," Trump told supporters on Wednesday, in a typically emphatic statement. "He is also a GREAT person. Run Herschel, run!"

Walker, who went on to be a reality TV contestant after playing football and now owns a food service company, hasn't said anything publicly about a future run for office (and he did not respond to a request for comment through a representative). 

But he hasn't been shy about his conservative politics.

The Heisman Trophy winner is a vocal Trump supporter, appearing at the 2020 Republican National Convention to support and defend the then-president against accusations of racism.

"I take that as a personal insult, that people would think I've had a 37-year friendship with a racist," Walker said in his RNC speech. "People don't know what they're talking about. Growing up in the Deep South, I've seen racism up close. I know what it is. And it isn't Donald Trump." 

Walker has continued to speak out even after Trump left office.

Last month, he appeared at a virtual congressional hearing on reparations for slavery, arguing that he disagreed with them because "reparations teach separation."

"Slavery ended over 130 years ago. How can a father ask his son to spend prison time for a crime he committed?" Walker said at the February hearing.

He also defended his stance on reparations in a video posted to his Twitter account, in which he said he wanted to "empower the African-American community."

"Our Elected Officials time is best served upholding the Constitution and finding solutions to hold Companies & our Government accountable. They want to keep everyone emotional with bandaids rather then solving problems! #Manyfolksmakemoneyoffofcreatingraceproblems," Walker captioned the video.

Walker's son, Christian, has grabbed his own headlines and stirred his own controversies as a rising right-wing social media star, where he has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers.

Christian's political videos are widely watched (and, often, widely parodied on the left). Like Trump, Christian echoed baseless claims that Joe Biden hadn't really won the election. 

He has also appeared on Fox News. The younger Walker, who is openly gay, led a Gays for Trump march in West Hollywood in 2020.

Walker's professional football career includes stints in now-defunct USFL New Jersey Generals, which was owned by Trump, and in NFL teams including the Vikings, Eagles and Giants. 

In 2008, he wrote about having dissociative identity disorder, hoping to show a different portrayal of the condition. At the time, Walker's ex-wife, Cindy, said that he had violent episodes in their marriage, including holding a gun to her head — which CNN reported he did not deny, saying he had blackouts and memory loss.

"I'm troubled by my actions and will always deeply regret any pain I've caused Cindy," he said then.

If Walker did launch a campaign for the Georgia Senate, Walker would face newly-elected Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, who won a January special election to serve the remainder of retired GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson's six-year term, defeating appointed Sen. Kelly Loeffler.

That term is set to expire in 2022, when Warnock will have to defend his seat in order to win a full six-year term.

The Rev. Warnock — a Georgia pastor who rose to prominence as a religious leader at Dr. Martin Luther King's church in Atlanta — made history as the first Black senator elected from Georgia when he defeated businesswoman Loeffler, the state's first female senator.

Walker had endorsed Loeffler in the months leading up to the election, appearing in an ad that drew on his football career.

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