Herschel Walker Acknowledges He Gave Ex $700 Check

Topline

Herschel Walker admitted for the first time this week he gave his ex-girlfriend a $700 check, but denied the money was for an abortion, claiming he had “no idea what that could be for,” two weeks after his ex-girlfriend and the mother of one of his children claimed the anti-abortion GOP Georgia Senate candidate pushed her to undergo the procedure.

Republican Senate candidate for Georgia, Herschel Walker, speaks at a campaign event.

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Key Facts

After being shown an image of a receipt from an abortion clinic and a check with his alleged signature during an interview with NBC News that aired Monday, Walker confirmed “that’s my check,” but continued to call allegations he paid for the woman’s abortion “a lie.”

“Prove that I did that,” the ex-NFL star said, arguing that since he had a child with the woman, the check was irrelevant because it could have been given for other reasons.

The Georgia Senate candidate also denied allegations he was abusive toward his ex-wife Cindy Grossman and his son, conservative social media influencer Christian Walker.

Walker claimed he doesn’t “have any violence,” and loves his son Christian and his “whole family.”

Crucial Quote

Walker told NBC Georgia voters would believe him because “I have been very transparent about everything I’ve ever done. You know I wrote a book about everything I have done, I have not tried to hide one thing I’ve ever done.”

Tangent

Walker also claimed that former President Donald Trump called him after his debate against Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock last week, saying that if he “needed” Trump to campaign with him, he would come. Trump has endorsed Walker and has come to his defense in the wake of the abortion controversy.

Key Background

The Daily Beast reported two weeks ago that Walker—who is running in a key race that could determine which party controls the Senate—conceived a child with a woman he was dating in 2009 and asked her to get an abortion. The report claimed that Walker—who has called for a strict nationwide abortion ban with no exceptions for cases of rape, incest or medical danger—paid her $700 for the procedure. The woman also told several outlets she later became pregnant with a second child and that Walker again urged her to have an abortion, but she declined. Walker has repeatedly denied the allegations, claiming it was a “hatchet job” from a Democratic activist. Walker’s son Christian lambasted his father in response to the story in a series of social media posts, criticizing his father for having “four kids with four different women” but not being around to raise any of them. Allegations from Walker’s ex-wife have also resurfaced in recent weeks. Grossman in 2008 claimed Walker threatened to kill her and held a gun to her head and a razor to her throat, allegations Walker did not deny to NBC News this week, but claimed he did not remember.

Surprising Fact

Recent polling suggests the Georgia Senate race remains neck-and-neck, with Warnock leading Walker by a couple of percentage points in the wake of the abortion controversy after August polling showed a slight lead for Walker.

Herschel Walker Acknowledges He Gave Ex $700 Check—But Has ‘No Idea’ What For