Donald Trump has nominated former Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker to be ambassador to the Bahamas, the president-elect announced Tuesday.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that Walker is “a successful businessman, philanthropist, former Heisman Trophy winner, and NFL Great [who] has been a tireless advocate for youth sports.”
Walker, who played on the USFL team that Trump once owned, was a Trump appointee to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, where he served until March 2022.
During his failed campaign to unseat Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in 2022, Walker’s past business ventures were subject to immense scrutiny, as well as certain aspects of his personal life. Walker continued to make headlines even after the election.
Among areas of controversy were his shady fundraising tactics, a Georgia residency investigation, two women saying the purportedly “pro-life” candidate pressured and paid for them to get abortions, and lying about how many children he has. The Daily Beast first reported all of these scandals.
On top of that, Walker falsely claimed to have graduated in the top one percent of his University of Georgia class, and said he owned businesses that were actually non-existent.
Walker’s campaign also had to manage the unforced error of arguing that the existence of apes disproves evolution.
And when election night didn’t go his way, it was reported that Walker wanted to ask a local sheriff to identify voters in his home county who didn’t cast their ballot for him.
Two years later, Walker reappeared in the public eye in support of Trump, speaking at a rally in his home state and going on Fox Business Network. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in November that Walker was completing his bachelors degree and was set to graduate by the end of the year.
If confirmed, Walker would be the second former NFL player to be ambassador to the Bahamas. Ex-linebacker Sid Williams, the husband of California Rep. Maxine Waters, held the role for four years during the Clinton administration.
