For years, Herschel Walker has held himself out as the model father. He has a son, “Christian,” who is now 22, who Walker continues to co-parent with his mother. Walker has long been critical of absent fathers, especially within the black community. It was one aspect of Walker’s character that countered the many negatives associated with his candidacy and person, such as past incidents of domestic violence, habitual lying, and shady business practices.
Turns out, Walker’s story about his parenting has been a bit of a lie itself. Walker lied by committing one-half of the story. According to the Daily Beast:
Walker—who co-parented his 22-year-old son, Christian with both his ex-wife and current wife—told right-wing internet personalities Diamond and Silk that if you have “a child with a woman, even if you have to leave that woman… you don’t leave the child.”
What Walker hasn’t publicly acknowledged is that he has a second son, who has apparently been estranged from his biological father since his birth a decade ago.
You will, of course, note that a “decade ago” is not a child born out of an affair between 18-year-olds. This would be a child born to a wealthy, theoretically-mature, grown man, a child that is 12 years younger than the son Walker held out.
The son, whose name The Daily Beast is withholding out of privacy concerns, has grown up more than 1,500 miles from Walker’s Texas home. And the mother, whose name we are also withholding for privacy reasons, had to take Walker to court a year after giving birth in order to secure a declaration of paternity and child support.
If Walker is going to hold himself out as a wonderful loving father as part of a political campaign, he doesn’t necessarily have an obligation to identify a child whose mother wants to remain anonymous, but Walker does have an obligation to explain the dynamic. If you’re going to tell a story, you’ll be accountable for leaving a less flattering half of the story out.
The Walker campaign put out a statement through its spokesperson:
“Herschel had a child years ago when he wasn’t married. He’s supported the child and continues to do so. He’s proud of his children. To suggest that Herschel is ‘hiding’ the child because he hasn’t used him in his political campaign is offensive and absurd,
“Raphael Warnock is currently engaged in both a nasty mudslinging campaign and a nasty custody dispute with his ex-wife. He is trying to hide it from voters by sealing the case and even tried to hide from authorities. This is a complete double standard.”
“Years ago”? The child is ten years old, twelve years younger than Christian, fathered by an even more mature and established Walker.
No one is saying that Walker is hiding the child by not using him in his political campaign. People are saying that he’s hiding the son because Walker has kept the child hidden throughout his life, showing no interest in co-parenting while walking around talking about the importance of co-parenting. Walker limits his role as “dad” to paying child support and sending birthday and Christmas presents. Nothing more. Additionally, the campaign had no explanation for what it meant by saying that Warnock “even tried to hide from authorities.”
Walker continues his march as the nearly unelectable mega-MAGA from Georgia, which is damned impressive. Yet, Trump was up to the task in basing endorsements solely upon loyalty. Walker wouldn’t be the Republican nominee were it not for Trump’s endorsement, and the people of Georgia will now have endured another Walker lie. Perhaps Trump chose Walker for both his loyalty and because of how much Walker reminded Trump of himself.
Jason Miciak believes a day without learning is a day not lived. He is a political writer, features writer, author, and attorney. He is a Canadian-born dual citizen who spent his teen and college years in the Pacific Northwest and has since lived in seven states. He now enjoys life as a single dad of a young girl, writing from the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He loves crafting his flower pots, cooking, while also studying scientific philosophy, religion, and non-math principles behind quantum mechanics and cosmology. Please feel free to contact for speaking engagements or any concerns.