WADLEY, Ga. (AP) — Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker remained defiant Thursday after successive reports alleging that he encouraged and paid for a woman’s 2009 abortion and later fathered a child with her.
Digging in on his denials of The Daily Beast’s reporting, Walker, a football icon turned celebrity politician and staunch abortion foe, blamed the stories on Democrats and their “desperation” — a defensive tactic that Walker’s friend and ally, former President Donald Trump, used to weather myriad controversies on his way to the White House.
“I know why you’re here. I do,” he told reporters after his first public campaign speech since The Daily Beast’s initial report Monday. “You’re here because the Democrats are desperate to hold on to this seat here, and they’re desperate to make this race about my family.”
He went on to repeat: “This abortion thing is false. It’s a lie.”
Walker promised in the hours after a Monday report to sue the news outlet, but has not followed up with confirmation he has done so. And he has yet to clarify why he initially said he had no idea what woman could be making such an abortion claim, only to have The Daily Beast follow up Wednesday with the woman saying she had had a long relationship with Walker that included a child he knows.