Former President Trump on Tuesday backed Georgia Republican Senate nominee Herschel Walker’s denial of a Daily Beast report suggesting he paid for a woman’s abortion in 2009 after they conceived a child.
“Hershel Walker is being slandered and maligned by the Fake News Media and obviously, the Democrats,” Trump said in a statement.
“Interestingly, I’ve heard many horrible things about his opponent, Raphael Warnock, things that nobody should be talking about, so we don’t. Herschel has properly denied the charges against him, and I have no doubt he is correct.”
The Daily Beast on Monday evening said the woman, whom the outlet declined to identify, provided a $700 bank deposit receipt from Walker, a receipt for the abortion procedure and a get-well card Walker apparently sent after the procedure.
The Hill has not verified The Daily Beast’s report.
The Georgia Republican called the report a “flat-out lie” and an attempt to hand the seat to Democrats, saying he would sue The Daily Beast on Tuesday morning.
Trump backed the former NFL star in his primary, traveling to Georgia earlier this year to stump for him. Walker faces a close race against Warnock, the incumbent Democratic senator, with recent polls showing the candidates neck-and-neck with just weeks until the midterms.
“They are trying to destroy a man who has true greatness in his future, just as he had athletic greatness in the past,” Trump said. “It’s very important for our County and the Great State of Georgia that Herschel Walker wins this Election.”
The GOP nominee faced criticism earlier this year for not previously disclosing the fact he had fathered three additional children. He also faces allegations of domestic abuse against a former partner.
Walker’s adult son with the former partner, Christian Walker, posted two videos on Tuesday morning laying into his father and accusing him of lying.