Atlanta tavern cracks up as pundits ridicule Herschel Walker's vampire versus werewolf debate as a key GOP issue
MSNBC host Joy Ann Reid is in Atlanta for the Georgia Senate runoff race between Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Herschel Walker.
Speaking to Georgia local and Black Voters Matter co-founder Latosha Brown and Professor Jason Johnson, Reid asked if the runoff was making people more exhausted and overwhelmed about politics. Brown explained that it wasn't, that people understand the importance of the election.
Reid showed a recent video of Georiga Lt. Gov. Jeff Duncan, who acknowledged that Walker has been the worst Republican candidate his party has ever had.
"I'm just going to say, I'm staring at Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert, John Kennedy, who thinks he's Foghorn Leghorn when he wants to be, Rick Scott, Medicare fraud, Blake Masters, Dr. Oz, J.D. Vance, Doug Mastriano," Reid listed off.
Johnson explained, "None of those guys know how to debate whether they want to be a werewolf or a vampire."
The joke harkens back to a bizarre speech in which Walker claimed that he'd watched a movie called "Fright Night, Freak Night, or some type of night." When describing the plot, he rambled, “I don’t know if you know, but vampires are some cool people, are they not? But let me tell you something that I found out: a werewolf can kill a vampire. Did you know that? I never knew that. So, I don’t want to be a vampire anymore. I want to be a werewolf.”
The speech has drawn ridicule just as much as his other absurd statements about Chinese air and pronouns. But one person seems to have gotten under Walker's skin about it.
“Since the last time I was here, Mr. Walker has been talking about issues of great importance to the people of Georgia, like whether it’s better to be a vampire or a werewolf,” former President Barack Obama said last month. “This is a debate that I must confess I once had myself … when I was seven.”
Walker went on Fox to say that he was taken out of context and that his comments were really all about faith and losing faith. The original comments never included the word "faith" much less "church." The mockery has only increased ever since.
Johnson said that the numbers he is seeing are what has been interesting. According to one report, he quoted there is 5 to 6 percent of people participating in the Warnock runoff who didn't vote in the midterm election.
"They're ready, voting, prepared, they want this to be over so the governing can start next spring," he said.
Reid said that the number is 77,000 people voting in the runoff who didn't vote in the midterm election in November.
"And I wonder if it was a mistake on the part of the handlers of Herschel Walker, people like Lindsey Graham who have said that the reason to vote for Herschel Walker is nothing to do with the state of Georgia," Reid continued. "It had nothing to do with what would help the state of Georgia. He says vote for Herschel Walker so that, No. 1, Republicans can say they're not racist, and No. 2, because somehow every Black kid in America would want to be a Republican. That is not respect for the voters if you say that's why you should vote for this guy."
Johnson said that the picture of Ted Cruz and Graham standing on either side of Walker like infamous old man muppets, "Waldorf and Statler" telling him what to say or operating his mouth like a puppet.
"He was always incompetent, had a terrible background, his lack of representation from the state," Johnson said noting that it wasn't just that Walker is actually declaring Texas as his home. "He probably couldn't find Manuel's (Tavern), he probably couldn't find Varsity, right off 75. When you get a chance to focus on the candidate, people are like what are the issues that matter in Georgia? Who is the guy who has been here, and who's the guy who just showed up? He was always a failed candidate but now he doesn't have the momentum of a fake red wave behind him, and it's harder for people to justify coming out and voting for him."
Later at the end of the show, Reid walked around the room of the tavern to ask the crowd what made them come out to vote and many said "intelligence" or "competence" that motivated them to vote against Walker and for Warnock. One man joked he was "pro-vampire."
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