NFL great and former Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker revealed that he lost “some friends” due to his outspoken support of President Trump.
Earlier this week, Walker delivered an impassioned defense of the president against charges of racism. Speaking with USA Today Sports after the speech, Walker expressed dismay over how people now unfriend each other over political disagreements.
“In society today, if you’ve got a Black friend, oh, jeez you’re like king,’’ Walker said. “But not one time has (Trump) asked me to speak for him. I don’t even think he knew I was going to speak this time. I’m the one that asked.’’
“Losing friends has been a big cost,’’ he added. “I lost some friends, and that’s what’s so strange about it. How could in a country like America you disagree with someone that you now want to injure that person or you just don’t want to talk to them no more? Where did it get that you become a country like that?’’
As to why he does not support the Democratic Party, Walker said their extremism pushed him away.
“I love the Lord Jesus Christ and when I start seeing the Democratic Party, and I want to say ‘the other party,’ when I start seeing them not want to talk about God and removing God, and then I saw the BLM burning a cross and also burning the Holy Bible and burning a flag, and that’s not something I want to be a part of. I’m not that,” Walker said.
During his speech at the RNC, Walker said it hurts his soul when people refer to Donald Trump, who he has known for 37 years, as a racist.
“It hurts my soul to hear the terrible names that people call Donald. The worst one is ‘racist.’ I take it as a personal insult that people would think I would have a 37-year friendship with a racist,” he said. “People who think that don’t know what they are talking about. Growing up in the deep south, I have seen racism up close. I know what it is. And it isn’t Donald Trump.”
“Just because someone loves and respects the flag, our national anthem, and our country doesn’t mean they don’t care about social justice. I care about all of those things, and so does Donald Trump,” he added.
Following his speech, which was given on the same night as speeches by other prominent black conservatives, racial slurs such as “Uncle Tom” immediately began trending on Twitter.
“Whether through sheer coincidence — or not — ‘Uncle Tom’ was one of the top trending topics on Twitter Tuesday morning following the opening night of the Republican National Convention (RNC) that featured several Black men making the case for Donald Trump to be re-elected,” reported News One. “More than 6,000 ‘Uncle Tom’ tweets were posted following speeches from Democratic Georgia State Rep. Vernon Jones, former professional football star Herschel Walker and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.”
RELATED: Herschel Walker: ‘I Have Seen Racism Up Close. I Know What It Is. And It Isn’t Donald Trump.’