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Herschel Walker, a former football star who recently won the Republican nomination for the 2022 United States Senate election in Georgia, was soundly mocked after he claimed there are 52 states in the United States during an attempt to criticize Stacey Abrams, the 2022 Georgia gubernatorial candidate and voting rights activist.
Walker directed criticism at Abrams after she said she is "tired of hearing about [Georgia] being the best state in the country to do business when we are the worst state in the country to live.”
Abrams had contexualized her statement, noting Georgia ranks low on matters related to mental health care, has a high maternal mortality rate, and has "an incarceration rate on the rise" as well as wages that are "on the decline."
But during a June 21 interview with The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, Walker suggested Abrams should go live in another state—adding she has 51 others to choose from.
He said:
“If you don’t believe in the country, leave and go somewhere else."
"If it’s the worst state, why are you here? Why don’t you leave—go to another?"
"There’s, what, 51 more other states that you can go to?”
Walker is wrong of course.
There have been 50 states in the United States since August 1959, as is stressed in every elementary United States geography class. Interestingly, Georgia became the 4th state—following Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey—to enter the Union when it ratified the Constitution on January 2, 1788.
Walker was almost immediately mocked for his statement.
\u201cIn response to Stacey Abrams criticizing Georgia over issues like incarceration/mental health, Herschel Walker said, \u201cIf it\u2019s the worst state, why are you here? Why don\u2019t you leave, go to another? There\u2019s, what, 51 more other states that you can go to?\u201d\n\nThere are not 52 states.\u201d— Brian Tyler Cohen (@Brian Tyler Cohen) 1655936761
\u201cHerschel Walker says there are 52 states\n\nWhy did it take *this* loon to recognize Puerto Rico and DC?\u201d— flexghost. (@flexghost.) 1655934633
\u201cExcuse me while I bang my head against a brick wall. \n\nHerschel Walker Says There Are 52 States\n\nIs this before or after TX seceded from the union?\u201d— Richard Caslon (@Richard Caslon) 1655931312
\u201cHerschel Walker cannot be a Senator. We just can't allow it. Everyone, please do what you can to make sure @SenatorWarnock wins re-election this November!\nhttps://t.co/XZkOmGvwnB\u201d— Tokyo Sand \ud83d\uddfd\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Tokyo Sand \ud83d\uddfd\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1655934263
\u201cWalker was obviously signaling his support for D.C. and Puerto Rican statehood. https://t.co/5tw1bcyATD\u201d— Bill Kristol (@Bill Kristol) 1655953839
\u201cHerschel Walker wants Stacey Abrams to leave Georgia and go live in one of the other 51 states. No, I\u2019m not kidding.\u201d— Hoodlum \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Hoodlum \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1655939342
\u201cReally, Herschel Walker. 52 states?\u201d— Avenger Resister (@Avenger Resister) 1655939155
\u201cIf Herschel Walker doesn\u2019t know how many kids he has why would anyone expect him to know how many States there are?\u201d— Ken Olin (@Ken Olin) 1655959594
\u201cWalker just assumed Georgia had given birth to two states it was keeping secret.\n\n https://t.co/Z9nyx3w5Mt\u201d— The Hoarse Whisperer (@The Hoarse Whisperer) 1655942793
\u201cHerschel Walker says to Stacey Abrams that there's 51 other states she can move to\nSays the IDIOT who actually lives in Texas\nLMFAO\u201d— kenyadad12 (@kenyadad12) 1655952805
Walker is known for making head-scratching remarks.
In April, Walker was widely criticized on social media after he claimed Democratic President Joe Biden's administration “decided that they were going to give up our energy."
Walker continued to offer some incomprehensible energy policy advice. He went on to say the Biden administration "started the whole downfall" because the United States is not "energy dependent anymore."
Claiming the Biden administration "blamed everyone else except themselves," he referred to the Michael Jackson song "The Man in the Mirror," saying "you gotta look at yourself to know what's going on."
Last month, he made headlines again after he—remarking on the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas—suggested there should be "a department that can look at young men that’s looking at women that looking at social media" and—oddly for a Republican—said he wanted to put money in the “mental health field” instead of “departments that want to take away your rights.”