by GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker continues to deny knowing the unnamed woman who claimed in a report by The Daily Beast that he paid for her abortion and now, he also says she is the mother of one of Walker’s many children.
But in a Thursday morning interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Walker said that if he had done that, he would have said it “because there’s nothing to be ashamed of there” and “people have done it.” On the campaign trail, Walker has voiced his opposition to abortion, without exception, and supports a national ban on abortion after 15 weeks.
Then, at a news conference Thursday in Wadley, Georgia, Walker denied that his “nothing to be ashamed of” comment was related to whether he had paid for the woman’s abortion.
“I was talking about something completely different that happened with my ex-wife and my past – nothing to do with what this woman said. This, this right here, the abortion thing, it’s false, it’s a lie,” Walker told reporters . “And that’s what I said. I said whatever happened with my ex-wife or whatever Christian (Walker’s son) was talking about, I don’t know. But, like I said, if something happened, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Because my ex-wife and I’m best friends with her husband and my wife. That’s the thing I said. And I didn’t say anything about whether it happened because I said it’s a lie.”
Following is the transcript of that portion of the interview with Hewitt.
Hewitt: Is there anything you should forgive a woman whose name we don’t know? Do you know who this woman is? And do you need to be forgiven?
Walker: No. Well, that’s what’s so funny. And I say I’ve been forgiven for all the things I did when I went to mine, the thing with my ex-wife and all that, and things I did I don’t know how many years ago I wrote in my book. Forgot. I wasn’t perfect. I had the problem with mental health. And I was, I was, I hate to say I was born again, but I have a new life. And I was moving forward, and if that happened, I would say it, because it’s nothing to be ashamed of. You know, people have done it, but I don’t know anything about it. And if I knew, I would be honest and talk about it, but I don’t know anything about it.
The Daily Beast reported Wednesday that the unnamed woman who claimed Walker paid for her 2009 abortion is also the mother of one of his children, two days after the agency reported the alleged payment for the abortion. CBS News has not independently verified the report, which Walker has vehemently denied. He also continues to deny knowing who the woman is.
Asked by a reporter Thursday if he has contacted any of the mothers of his four children, Walker said, “No.” And no, the journalist continued. “Why should I,” he said.
Walker has been consistent in his opposition to abortion. in a candidate survey for an anti-abortion group, Georgia Life Alliance Walker said he supports banning abortion with no exceptions for rape, incest or the health of the mother.
“There’s no exception in my mind,” Walker told reporters in May at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in Macon, Georgia, adding, “Like I say, I believe in life. I believe in life.”
Walker also says he supports a national ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, as proposed by Senator Lindsey Graham. Some Republicans see such a ban as unnecessary after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe or as a risk to their national prospects this fall and 2024.
The reports from The Daily Beast come at a critical time in the Georgia Senate race between Walker and Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, with just over a month to go before the election.
Walker’s personal problems plagued his campaign long before the most recent headlines. In June, Walker said he “never denied” the existence of children he had not publicly disclosed in the past. He told a Faith and Freedom Coalition conference his children “knew the truth.”
“Well, first of all, they knew the truth. You know, I’ve never disowned any of my kids and I love them more than anything,” she said in June. “And they did nothing, which just makes me want to fight harder because I’m tired of them misleading the American people. I’m tired of them misleading my family.”
Christian Walker, one of Walker’s children, who supports former President Trump and has supported his father’s Senate campaign on social media, said he was “over it” after the Daily Beast’s original story.
“[H]DARE TO LIE and act like you are some “moral, Christian, upright person”. You lived a life RUINING other people’s lives. How dare you,” Christian Walker tweeted earlier this week.
Herschel Walker says he loves his son unconditionally.
Kathryn Watson
