Herschel Walker claims he will only debate Sen. Raphael Warnock “for the fans” but avoided at least three opportunities to debate with Warnock

Republican challenger Herschel Walker of Georgia would join incumbent US Senator Raphael Warnock on the debate stage if the circumstances are right, the former NFL player said.

Herschel told Fox News anchor Brian Kilmead on July 27 that he’s willing to debate the Democratic nominee as long as it’s in the right frame. Warnock has repeatedly urged Walker to discuss the state’s problems in front of an audience, but he said his opponent disagreed.

“I’ve told him many times. I’m ready to debate with him anytime, any day,” Walker told Kilmead. “I just want to do it for the fans, not through a political party or through any media, and all he does is talk.”

The Republican is behind Warnock in the latest polls. According to a SurveyUSA poll conducted July 21-24, Warnock leads Walker by 9 percentage points.

The Kilmead interview isn’t the first time the Heisman Trophy winner said he would face his opponent. Warnock ran a campaign ad two days before Walker’s Fox News appearance.

In the ad, a reporter asks Walker if he has “any intention of dodging debates,” to which the Republican candidate replies, “I’m not dodging anything.” The ad also features a clip of Walker saying he’s ready, when always Warnock is ready.

However, the Democratic senator argued the opposite on Twitter following Walker’s Fox News interview.

“How is Herschel Walker supposed to stand up for Georgians in Washington when he’s not even on the stage to debate with me?” Warnock wrote.

Warnock’s campaign said the incumbent has so far accepted three debates that Walker has avoided.

“My dad taught me half life shows up,” he said in another tweet.

Walker was also heavily criticized for his comments on Twitter. Almost 1,800 commenters responded to a video clip of his interview shared by liberal pundit Ron Filipkowski. Many of them pointed out that Walker does not want to discuss politics in an election debate and refers to voters as fans.

“They must have worded it like he was on a reality show when they were recruiting him to run for office. “You’re going to do great, Hershel. All your fans from your playing days will vote to keep you in the game,'” wrote Twitter user @CaptTomseigler. “Just do what we say, okay? You don’t really have to have ideas.”

It’s not the first time Walker has faced backlash over comments he made during the campaign. Some of them were outright lies.

For example, the Republican nominee claimed he had a successful law enforcement career that led him to a position with the FBI and graduated from college near the top of his class, while reports show he dropped out after his junior year.

“I don’t know if Herschel Walker is afraid that voters will hear what he has to say or if he is afraid that voters will hear that he is unprepared to speak about the issues that are affecting the people of Georgia are most important,” said Quentin Fulks, Warnock’s campaign manager.

Although he failed to discuss the state’s problems face-to-face with Warnock, Walker’s campaign launched constant political attacks on his opponent.

In one of his recent postings, Walker’s campaign accused the incumbent of being soft on crime and working to make Georgia “more dangerous,” citing his support for ending bail payments and “blindly” supporting President Joe Biden’s nominees for justice .

“Raphael Warnock has worked consistently to support criminals rather than protect our communities,” said Mallory Blount, spokeswoman for the Walker campaign.

“Crime is on the rise across the country and Georgia is no exception. Atlanta has one of the highest crime rates in the country and Georgians are fed up with it. Warnock has done more for Joe Biden than he has for law-abiding Georgians, and it’s about time Georgia had a senator who took public safety seriously.”

However, Jackie Bush, Warnock’s campaign spokeswoman, told the Atlanta Black Star that Warnock voted for more funding, training and resources for Georgia law enforcement agencies, including $506.4 million more in state law enforcement grants than last year.