Herschel Walker seeks distance from Trump on GOP refusing to vote in 2022, 2024

GOP Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker looked to distance himself in an interview this week from former President Trump urging Republicans not to vote in the 2022 and 2024 elections if the “Presidential Election Fraud of 2020” is not “solved.”

“Is that the right message?” Walker was asked on the “Brian Kilmeade Show” after the host read a portion of Trump’s statement from last week. “Don’t vote if things aren’t perfect?”

“That is not the right message. I think everyone’s got to get out and vote. You know, we can’t look at the past,” the former football star told Kilmeade.

In a statement published by his Save America PAC, Trump had called on Republican voters not to cast ballots in forthcoming elections if his unfounded claims of fraud the 2020 race are not resolved.

“If we don’t solve the Presidential Election Fraud of 2020 (which we have thoroughly and conclusively documented), Republicans will not be voting in ‘22 or ‘24,” Trump wrote. “It is the single most important thing for Republicans to do.”

Walker, during the interview with Kilmeade, said he is on the ballot next year in Georgia, not Trump, adding that he will run his campaign his own way.

“We can’t continue to look at the past, and that’s what I’ve tried to tell people,” he said. “President Trump — I’m very honored that he endorsed me because he knew I’m the right man for the job, but he also knows Herschel Walker is going to do it Herschel Walker’s way, meaning I’m gonna go out and I’m gonna run for this seat.”

“This is not Donald Trump running for it. It’s Herschel Walker running for it,” he added. “I’ve done the things that I think I need to do, and I know about this country, and I’m going to go out and fight for this country and fight for the state of Georgia.” 

Trump, in his endorsement last month, said Walker “is a friend, a Patriot, and an outstanding American who is going to be a GREAT United States Senator.”

If he wins the GOP primary, Walker will take on Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.).

Walker’s campaign announced last week that it has raised $3.7 million since launching.