Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker has made waves by undermining his own intelligence, but a new column said that this is all part of his plan.
The op-ed, published Monday on MSNBC's Maddowblog by producer Steve Benen, claimed that Walker's "dumbing down" of himself is being done on purpose in an effort to pull off a come-from-behind victory.
While Walker referred to himself as a "country boy," "not that smart," and claimed his opponent, Sen. Raphael Warnock, would "embarrass me" at their upcoming debate, the blog said that Walker actually wanted people to think he was less intelligent. "In campaigns, this is what’s known as “managing expectations," Benen wrote. "Ahead of their Senate debate, it’s in Walker’s interest to set expectations so low that he’ll win just by showing up. Warnock is one of American politics’ most gifted orators; Walker struggles to speak coherently; so the Republican is deliberately downplaying his chances so that viewers will tune in and be impressed if he manages to speak in complete sentences."
While this seems like a bizarre, and somewhat backwards strategy, Benen noted that it may end up working in his favor. "As political forums go, debates tend to favor those who struggle with substantive details because, due to practical constraints, candidates are required to give short answers," he said.
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Indeed, while the action at the debate remains to be seen, Walker has made numerous headlines on account of his statements and some of the things he has said during interviews.
This includes answering a question on his mental acuity by talking about bicycles and arguing against climate change by questioning the number of trees. He also reportedly falsely claimed to have worked in law enforcement three times.
A recent report from The Daily Beast claimed that Walker's own aides were concerned with the way his campaign was being handled.