Mainstream reporters and even liberal media figures admitted that Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker did better than expected in his Friday night debate against his Democratic opponent, Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga.
NBC News contributors, local news commentators, former Daily Beast writers and even MSNBC anchor Mehdi Hasan acknowledged that Walker’s debate performance was “not as bad as it could have been.” ‘be”.
One claimed that Warnock, the pro-choice Democratic pastor, looked weak and should have fought back harder against Walker’s aggressive criticism, and another even declared Walker the winner.
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GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker and Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock squared off in their first and only debate Friday night in Savannah, Georgia.
(Getty Pictures)
This somewhat positive assessment of Walker’s debate performance by some media outlets was surprising given the negative media coverage Walker received for months. Reporters aggressively pursued him after allegations recently surfaced that the pro-life Senate candidate once paid for a woman to have an abortion, which Walker denied.
Judging by the words of former Daily Beast writer and Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Patricia Murphy, Walker had a decent night Friday. She tweeted: “This is the most consistent response I’ve ever seen from Herschel Walker, prepared, aggressive, direct. Some of these responses won’t play well, but no disasters, which is saying something. .”
Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter and NBC News contributor Greg Bluestein quoted Democratic voters who were shocked by Walker’s performance in the debate.
He tweeted: “I’m getting surprised texts from Democrats caught off guard that Walker is ‘holding on’. As we reported, he’s been preparing for this debate for weeks – and he’s eagerly sought to reduce expectations.”
Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker speaks during a campaign stop at Battle Lumber Co. Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022 in Wadley, Georgia.
(AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)
Bluestein also shared his recap of the debate published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In it, he wrote that Republican voters “felt they had good reason to celebrate. If Friday’s showdown was a watershed moment for Walker, as some analysts had predicted, the Republican didn’t crack. And for some of his supporters, the hour-long debate made him a stronger contender.”
CNN reporter Andrew Kaczynski admitted, “Walker is exceeding expectations here so far, IMO [In my opinion].”
Even MSNBC anchor Mehdi Hasan claimed Walker did better than he could have and let Warnock have it for not going after Walker enough. He also trashed the debate moderators.
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The ‘Mehdi Hasan Show’ host tweeted: “My brief recap of the #GasenateDebate: Walker was bad but not as bad as he could have been; Warnock should have fought back much harder and was far too defensive throughout long; the moderators were terrible.”
Fox 5 Atlanta political commentator Phil Kent actually praised Walker, instead of grudgingly paying him compliments. He declared Walker the winner, tweeting, “Scoring @HerschelWalker the debate winner over Democrat @ReverendWarnock. I thought Warnock would be the aggressor but Walker was and had great one-liners his opponent struggled to handle . #gapol #gapol.”
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Herschel Walker poses with supporters in Georgia.
(Photo courtesy of Herschel Walker Campaign)
