Radical leftist Sen. Raphael Warnock — not to be confused with the Ninja Turtle of the same name — a Democrat from Georgia, has finally mustered up the courage to accept a debate with GOP candidate Herschel Walker. The event will be held in the city of Savannah in October. This ought to be a very interesting back and forth, though it’s possible it could potentially turn into a verbal joust at the drop of a hat.
A report from Breitbart said, “Warnock’s decision comes after the two candidates sparred for months over debate logistics, ultimately leading to Walker pressing Warnock to meet him in Savannah, where Warnock has hometown advantage, for a debate with a live audience hosted by Nexstar.”
“I’m not going to obey the demands of the elite press and the liberal establishment to stand in an empty room for a debate that’s supposed to be about the people,” Walker stated in a video statement released back on August 2, saying he accepted terms of the Nexstar debate.
Here are more details from Breitbart:
Walker’s message came after Warnock in June announced — without consulting Walker ahead of time, according to Walker’s campaign — that he would partake in three debates, hosted by the Atlanta Press Club, local outlet WTOC, and Mercer University’s Center for Collaborative Journalism.
Warnock is up for reelection in a tight race against Walker, a Georgia football legend, and the race is widely viewed as a toss-up that could, along with a handful of other battleground states, determine which party controls the U.S. Senate next year.
Walker, for his part, did not initially respond to Warnock’s debate announcements, keeping silent for about a month while Warnock publicly attacked Walker repeatedly in social media posts and a campaign ad for refusing to commit to any of the three debates.
Walker did eventually speak out, starting at the beginning of July, about his concerns with debates, going on to cite political bias and the absence of a live audience.
“Herschel has accepted an impartial statewide debate that’s for the people, not the partisan, elite Atlanta Press Club, which we now know is actually the Warnock-Biden Press Club,” Walker’s campaign manager Scott Paradise went on to say in a press release on put out on August 8.
Paradise then made a reference to a report published by the Washington Free Beacon that revealed several board members on the Atlanta Press Club had donated a combined total of thousands of dollars to Democrats, a list that featured prominent names like President Joe Biden, Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia, and Warnock himself in 2020.
“No wonder voters don’t trust politicians and their media friends. … We’re leaving the elite media behind and rejecting the partisan Press Club debate. And so should Senator Warnock. Instead, we have accepted a fair debate for the people,” Paradise remarked.
On Aug.25, Radical Raphael as I like to call him, started throwing up objections to try and block the debate proposition pitched by Walker. Maybe, just maybe, Warnock is yellow, to quote the cowboys of old?
Let me get this straight.
1. Herschel Walker says he’ll debate me any time, any place.
2. I commit to 3 debates across Georgia.
3. Walker ignores them and agrees to another that would give him the topics ahead of time?Seems like my opponent is getting cold feet!
— Reverend Raphael Warnock (@ReverendWarnock) August 26, 2022
Walker then fired off a response to Radical Raphael saying that he needs to “put his big man pants on” and just accept the debate proposed for Savannah, pointing out that it “doesn’t matter what the topics are because he can’t win on any of them.”
Now that’s a solid punch right to the face, wouldn’t you agree?
The Walker campaign spoke with Breitbart saying that they had met with Nexstar to work out the terms of the debate but said the campaign did not request to have the debate topics in advance.
“Nexstar is a national media group that hosts prominent political debates across the country, including in battlegrounds like Ohio and Pennsylvania. A Nexstar representative confirmed to Breitbart News that ‘providing topics to candidates is not unusual for a Nexstar debate,’ noting high-profile debates, such as presidential debates, have also operated this way,” the report stated.
On Tuesday evening, after having the pressure put on him or the last two weeks by Walker and his campaign, Warnock caved and agreed to the debate, but then added he still wants Walker to “reconsider” participating in the Atlanta Press Club and Mercer University debates.
Herschel Walker, I'll see you on the stage in Savannah on October 14th.
And I hope you'll reconsider your refusal to debate in Atlanta and Macon so voters can see more than once the clear choice they have in this election.
— Reverend Raphael Warnock (@ReverendWarnock) September 13, 2022
I’m sure Warnock really, really wants Walker to agree to those debates, especially since he has those folks in his pocket already. Clearly, he wants to have these debates be a setup to showcase his own ideology and to attempt to paint up Walker as an idiot. But it seems thus far that Walker is too smart to fall for the trap.
Herschel VS Warnock in a DEBATE October 14th in Savannah, GA! pic.twitter.com/CRzjaxC6kT
— Herschel Walker (@HerschelWalker) September 14, 2022
The debate is scheduled for October 14.
