Herschel Walker Wants To Use His Prop Police Badge As A Fundraising Tool

Fresh off his NBC News interview where he tried to justify flashing a prop badge in last Friday’s debate, Herschel Walker will now give all of his supporters one. Instead of dialing this back, Walker’s campaign let NBC News know it has ordered 1,000 imitation plastic law enforcement badges that say “I’m with Herschel” as a fundraising tool. The Georgia Republican candidate will also use it in a new video with Johnson County Sheriff Greg Rowland, who gave him the badge.

Walker hopes to hand these “prop” badges out at a crime-themed event with law enforcement officers Thursday because that’s what we need: more people pretending they are law enforcement.

If you ask Walker’s campaign strategist Gail Gitcho, this strategy is to show Walker is more pro-police. However, that doesn’t align with Walker’s words throughout his campaign. He has said he has worked “in” and “for” law enforcement over the years and suggested he was an FBI agent. Just because you’ve received an honorary badge doesn’t mean you automatically become an officer.

From NBC News:

“Herschel Walker has been a friend to law enforcement and has a record of honoring police,” said Gail Gitcho, the Walker campaign strategist who ordered the badges Saturday.

“If Sen. Warnock wants to highlight this, then bring it on,” Gitcho added. “It just gives us a chance to talk about Herschel’s support of law enforcement and law enforcement’s support for him. It’s a great issue for us.”

Sen. Warnock hit back at Walker’s dishonesty, something he also did during their only Senate debate last Friday.

“My opponent, Herschel Walker, is not ready,” Warnock told reporters Monday. “I pointed out the fact that he claimed to be in law enforcement — to be a police officer — and that he threatened a shootout with the police. And his response was to produce a fake badge? The people of Georgia deserve a serious person to represent them in serious times.”

DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox is not too happy with Walker’s antics either.

“It was a disgrace, and it was disrespectful to those of us who actually wear the badge and wear it proudly and serve our communities,” she told NBC News. “The problem with it is that it’s not a real badge. It does not have any power to it at all. There’s no arrest power. And my question is: If he’s flashing the badge now, then what else is he using the badge for? Where else is he flashing it?”

Sheriff Roland has said the badge is “honorary” — with “Herschel Walker” written on it only to help out in his office with no arrest powers attached. So, basically this is either a money grab or a ploy to get votes.