Republican senate contender Herschel Walker goes on desperate rant about pronouns
Republican US Senate candidate Herschel Walker has been criticised for his opinions on the LGBTQ+ community and abortion. (Getty Images/Brandon Bell)
Republican candidate Herschel Walker has lashed out at the trans community in a campaign speech, railing against trans women competing in sports, and asking “what’s a pronoun?”
Walker, 60, is currently campaigning for the Georgia runoff election, after neither he nor incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock received 50 per cent of the vote in the midterm elections to represent the state in the Senate.
Warnock received 49.4 per cent of the vote, while Trump-endorsed Walker received 48.5 per cent.
According to Flagpole, the campaign speech on Tuesday (15 November) saw Walker – a former NFL player – take aim at trans student swimmer Lia Thomas, who won several competitions while at the University of Pennsylvania.
“That’s like having Herschel Walker compete against your daughter,” he said of Thomas.
“You don’t want me to compete against your daughter, do you?”
He added that he would “get men out of women’s sports” if he were to win Georgia’s run-off election on 6 December.
Walker continued his anti-trans tirade, speaking out about the military, which he said had become obsessed with pronouns.
“Pronouns? What’s a pronoun? I can tell you, a grenade don’t care about their pronouns,” he allegedly said in the campaign speech.
I'm running for U.S. Senate because I love this country and I love my home state of GEORGIA! https://t.co/MKrqvIQDsl pic.twitter.com/JJoJepwW06
— Herschel Walker (@HerschelWalker) October 20, 2021
Ex-footballer Walker has been criticised for his stances on several subjects, including the LGBTQ+ community and abortion, reportedly telling trans children they wouldn’t go to heaven, and claiming he does not believe in same-sex marriage.
Walker also reportedly believes that abortion should be banned with no exemptions, even in cases of rape and incest, and has been endorsed by the anti-abortion National Right to Life Committee.
LGBTQ+ advocacy organisation Georgia Equality urged queer voters to maintain interest in the critical US Senate run-off election after it was announced, describing Walker as an “extremist candidate”.
Jeff Graham, a spokesperson for Georgia Equality, said in a statement: “Voters across Georgia and the entire country rejected extremist candidates… handpicked by former president Trump, like Herschel Walker was.
“They voted ‘no’ on those looking to ban books, our marriages and the right to choose.
“Georgia voters must return to the polls to make history again. There are just days to make a plan to vote in the runoff.
“Every LGBTQ voter must act now to keep moving forward on freedoms they fought so hard to win.”
