Donald Trump, who will be president in January, said Tuesday night that he will choose Herschel Walker to be his ambassador to the Bahamas.
Walker, a close friend of Trump and a former NFL running back, lost to Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) in a scandal-filled Georgia Senate race in 2022, even though Trump backed Walker.
Trump announced Walker as his choice in a post on Truth Social. He wrote, “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.” Herschel has been a strong supporter of young sports his whole life. He was a successful businessman, philanthropist, former Heisman Trophy winner, and NFL great.
Trump also talked about Walker’s work as co-chair of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition during his first administration and how he spoke about mental health problems at events “around the world.”
For over 40 years, Walker has known Trump. It all started when he joined the New Jersey Generals, a USFL team that Trump owned in the 1980s. The friendship made Walker want to be on “The Celebrity Apprentice.”
Walker has never been an ambassador before and doesn’t have any clear ties to the Bahamas.
Walker is the third Republican from Georgia who lost a Senate race but was chosen for a job in Trump’s second government. They chose to put former Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler in charge of the Small Business Administration after Warnock removed her from office. They also chose former Sen. David Perdue, who lost his place to Sen. Jon Ossoff, to be ambassador to China.
On Tuesday, Trump also named Nicole McGraw as the next ambassador to Croatia. He called her “a philanthropist, businesswoman, and world-renowned art collector.”
