Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker insisted a sheriff’s badge he flashed on stage at a debate Friday is “legit,” after being ridiculed for falsely claiming to have official law enforcement powers. Mr Walker made the claim in an interview with NBC News which saw him once again deny paying for an ex-girlfriend’s abortion. He told the interviewer that he saw no reason to address his accuser – who is also the mother of his child. Mr Walker’s comments come a day after he skipped a debate with his rivals, leaving Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock free to mock an empty floor. Meanwhile, Mr Walker’s colleague, Georgia Majorie Taylor Greene, used a debate to condemn the Democrats as the party of “child abuse” and claimed her husband “has evidence” of electoral fraud in 2020. And in a controversial interview with CNN, right-wing Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake declined to say whether she would respect the legal results of the midterm elections. Follow the latest news for the 2022 midterms below
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Gisele Fetterman apologizes to NBC after ‘shocking’ interview with husband John Fetterman
The wife of Pennsylvania Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, criticized an NBC News interview with her husband for the way he talked about adjusting the captions. Fetterman suffered a stroke in May, just before the Pennsylvania Senate primary. As a result, it uses subtitles. But in an interview with NBC News, reporter Dasha Burns said during a brief discussion earlier, it appeared the Democratic lieutenant governor didn’t seem to understand what they were saying. Ms Fetterman spoke to The Independent’s Eric Garcia.
Gisele Fetterman calls on NBC to apologize for John Fetterman interview
John Fetterman’s wife talks to Eric Garcia about closed captioning and controversy after Senate candidate’s NBC News interview Oliver O’Connell17 October 2022 18:32 1666026928
Watch: The Best and Worst Mid-Campaign Videos
The 2022 US midterm elections take place on Tuesday, November 8, and across America, candidates are ramping up their campaigns to secure the all-important votes. Many Republican lawmakers have focused their campaigns on attacking Joe Biden, sharing some rather strange videos on their social media channels. Before the midterms, check out some of the best and worst clips from politicians like Kandiss Taylor, Blake Masters and Jerone Davison.
Best and Worst Mid-Campaign Videos: ‘I Believe in Jesus, Guns and Babies’
The 2022 US midterm elections take place on Tuesday, November 8, and across America, candidates are ramping up their campaigns to secure the all-important votes. Many Republican lawmakers have focused their campaigns on attacking Joe Biden, sharing some rather strange videos on their social media channels. Before the midterms, check out some of the best and worst clips from politicians like Kandiss Taylor, Blake Masters and Jerone Davison. Click here to sign up for our newsletters. Oliver O’Connell17 October 2022 18:15 1666023346
ICYMI: Walker denies paying for an abortion
Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker admitted in an interview with NBC News that he did send a check to his ex-girlfriend, but denied that it was going to pay for an abortion. NBC News’ Kristen Welker showed a picture of the $700 check he allegedly gave to an ex-girlfriend. “That’s still a lie because she’s the mother of my child,” he said. “I have no idea what this could be.”
Herschel Walker acknowledges the check to the ex, says he doesn’t know if it was for an abortion
Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker acknowledged in an interview with NBC News that he did indeed send a check to his ex-girlfriend, but denied that it was going to pay for an abortion. Andrew Naughtie17 October 2022 17:15 1666021541
Lee “accidentally” writes a self-penned puff piece in the Utah paper
Utah Sen. Mike Lee is under fire for writing an opinion piece in the Salt Lake Tribune praising himself in the third person. “Since taking office, Senator Mike Lee has earned a reputation as a principled conservative. He believes elected officials are responsible for keeping the federal government within its constitutionally limited role,” Sen. Mike Lee writes,” the social media article said. The awkward phrasing drew derision on social media. Mr Lee’s campaign has now said they never intended for the “standard bio” to run according to Mr Lee’s byline. Bevan Hurley has the story.
Mike Lee gets roasted for the opinion column by celebrating himself
“I just want to know what Mike Lee thinks of Mike Lee,” said no one, ever. Andrew Naughtie17 October 2022 16:45 1666019741
Ron Johnson calls his opponent a “tool” of Putin
Ron Johnson, a die-hard Trumpist fighting to retain his Wisconsin Senate seat this November, has seen his poll numbers rebound somewhat recently as the GOP establishment tears into his opponent, Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes . But he does not take his foot off the pedal and goes even further in his attacks: Andrew Naughtie17 October 2022 16:15 1666017055
SNL rips Herschel Walker after debate
In a measure of how much his various blunders are permeating the national conversation, this weekend’s Saturday Night Live aired a short skit that poked fun at Herschel Walker’s weird police moment on Friday. “Walker pulled out a probation badge and said ‘I work with a lot of cops,’ which is yet another sign that Herschel Walker has brain issues.” Andrew Naughtie17 October 2022 15:30 1666016512
Read Sheriff Herschel Walker’s strange explanation
Herschel Walker has repeatedly claimed to have been given law enforcement powers by local police, but has never produced anything to prove that he had anything more than “honorary,” meaning that he was not actually a law enforcement officer. Having been ridiculed for producing a sheriff’s badge to support the false claim in Friday’s debate, he has now doubled down in his new NBC interview. A transcript shows that his last explanation makes no sense. Andrew Naughtie17 October 2022 15:21 1666011626
Analysis: Obama is back on track
In today’s Inside Washington assignment, Eric Garcia takes a look at Barack Obama’s return to the campaign trail — a rare return to political fray for an aloof former president who kept much of his party at arm’s length: In 2008, his campaign decided he would not appear with members of Congress, knowing that many Americans disapprove of the legislative branch as a matter of course. Mr. Obama never made much of a rapport with Democrats in Congress, leaving that to his vice president, a 36-year senator who liked to slap and gloat. He angered many Democrats during his tenure by leaving the Democratic National Committee and creating a separate campaign known as Organizing for Action, and in 2014, he clashed sharply with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid when he refused to send cash to fundraise for a Democratic outside group. Read the full analysis below.
Obama returns to the footsteps of a radically changed Democratic Party
The 44th president never fully aligned himself with his party’s establishment. But today’s Democratic Party is a different beast than it was in 2016 – never mind 2008 Andrew Naughtie17 October 2022 14:00 1666008026
Walker on allegations he paid for abortion: new interview
Herschel Walker has long denied and disputed allegations that he offered to pay for an abortion for an ex-girlfriend of more than a decade away. In a new interview with NBC News, he reiterated that the claim is a “lie”…but admitted that a check the interviewer showed him was indeed signed by him. Asked why he had not contacted his accuser, the candidate replied: “Why would I?” Andrew Naughtie17 October 2022 13:00 1666004400
Biden approval rises with midterms less than four weeks away
ICYMI: With less than four weeks to go until Americans choose who will control both houses of Congress and most of the governor’s mansions and state legislatures, a new poll shows President Joe Biden’s approval rating has jumped six points from the low point reached in the summer.
Biden’s approval rating rises to 44% with the midterm elections less than four weeks away
With less than four weeks to go until Americans choose who will control both houses of Congress and most of the governor’s mansions and state legislatures, a new poll shows President Joe Biden’s approval rating has jumped six points from a low. that summer has arrived. Andrew Naughtie17 October 2022 12:00