Herschel Walker doubles as ‘prop’ badge in campaign video with Sheriff

“This is my sheriff, Sheriff Roland,” Walker says in the video as he wraps his arm around Roland.

“Yes,” replied Roland, while holding up his own similar-looking badge. “If Herschel’s badge is a prop, I think this badge that I wear every day to protect citizens – I think it’s a prop. But these are real badges, and I gave them to my friend for all he’s done for this country and this county.

“I tell you I will always stand behind our men and women in blue, so God bless,” Walker concludes.

During Friday’s debate, Warnock said Walker “played a police officer”. Walker’s claims About working with the FBI and the local police department. Instead of responding verbally, Walker took out the badge — which was apparently an honor — and received a reprimand from the moderator for using a prop that wasn’t allowed under the debate rules.

“I — I work with a lot of police officers,” Walker said on stage.

The incident sparked memes, mockery and renewed scrutiny of Walker’s past claims. “The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah joked Monday that Georgia voters could give Walker a certificate saying “honorary senator” instead of electing him to the Senate.

“He doesn’t know the difference!” Noah declared.

In an interview with NBC News, which was conducted over the weekend and aired Monday, Walker defended the badge as “legitimate.”

“This is from my hometown. It’s a legitimate badge from Johnson County, from the sheriff of Johnson County,” Walker said. “Everybody can joke, but this badge gives me the right … if something happens in this county, I have the right to work with the police in getting things done.”

“I never decorated,” Walker added. “I’ve never done that. I work in law enforcement.

Walker’s past claims about working in law enforcement — including that he was an FBI agent — have already been closely scrutinized and found to be untrue. A step The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reviews dozens of Walker’s past speechesWalker said he worked with the Cobb County Police Department at various locations, and told police in Texas that he was a “certified peace officer” and had “been in criminal justice my whole life.”

A spokesperson for the Cobb County Police Department told an Atlanta newspaper, adding Later confirmed to The Washington Post, it has no record of working with Walker. A campaign spokeswoman said at the time that Walker had “participated in women’s self-defense training, the FBI Academy at Quantico” and was an “honorary deputy” in Cobb County.

The title of “honorary deputy” carries no authority and is seen as a “political token” for people who support the sheriff who wants to get out of traffic tickets, said former DeKalb County District Attorney J. Tom Morgan (D) told The Post in June.

“It’s absolutely nothing,” he said. “It’s the equivalent of a junior ranger badge.”

The police badge incident briefly drew some attention away from Walker’s other controversies, namely reports that he Paid for an ex-girlfriend’s abortion And He then offered to pay her to get a second one. Walker, who has campaigned against abortion rights under any circumstances, has denied the reports. In an NBC interview, he admitted to giving his then-partner a $700 check in 2009, but continued to deny the woman’s claims for payment. Abortion.

On Monday, Warnock cited the episode with the badge as he spoke to reporters during early voting in the race in Atlanta.

“He … said he was a police officer. He wasn’t,” Warnock said. “Said he was working for the FBI, clearly not. Claimed to be a college graduate, he wasn’t. He claims to be an expert in his class, he is not. Saying his business has 800 employees, he has eight people. They claimed to have started a non-existent business. So I guess he expects the people of Georgia to hallucinate now and imagine he’s a US senator. Clearly he was not ready.

“The people of Georgia deserve a serious person to represent them in a serious time,” Warnock said. “I’m committed to doing that job. I’ve been very open about my life.

Timothy Bella contributed to this report.