Trump nominates ex-NFL star Herschel Walker as ambassador to Bahamas

Donald Trump has nominated former American football star and failed Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker as the US ambassador to Bahamas.

“Herschel has spent decades serving as an ambassador to our nation’s youth, our men and women in the military, and athletes at home and abroad,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. “[He will] make Georgia [Walker’s home state], and our entire Nation, proud, because we know you will always put AMERICA FIRST!”

Elsewhere in his post, Trump hailed Walker as “an NFL great” and also noted that he was a member of the US bobsled team at the 1992 winter Olympics.

There is currently no serving US ambassador in the Bahamas.

Walker, 62, previously co-chaired Trump’s council on health, nutrition and fitness in his first administration. He notably has no previous diplomatic experience, a characteristic shared with several other Trump ambassadorial nominees. He came to political prominence in 2022 after Trump chose him to as the GOP candidate in a Georgia Senate race challenging sitting Democrat, Raphael Warnock.

Walker was ultimately unsuccessful after his campaign became mired in scandal.

Despite his anti-abortion beliefs, even in cases of rape or incest, allegations emerged during his campaign that he had paid for two former girlfriends to have abortions. His ex-wife also alleged that he held a gun to her head and threatened to kill her.

He was also forced to clarify how many children to the public. News reports in June 2022 revealed Walker had two additional children that he had not previously spoken about publicly – these reports came on the heels of Walker repeatedly criticising absentee fathers, especially in Black households. He later issuesd a statement to the New York Times: “I have four children. Three sons and a daughter. They’re not ‘undisclosed’ – they’re my kids. I support them all and love them all. I’ve never denied my children.”

There were also many false claims made throughout his campaign that were later debunked, including Walker’s assertion that he graduated in the top 1% of his class at the University of Georgia (he did not) and that he had served in law enforcement (he did not).

Walker’s relationship with Trump dates back to the early 1980s, when he played for the New Jersey Generals, a United States football league team that was owned at the time by the future president.