'Don’t we have enough trees?' GOP's Herschel Walker questions need for climate change spending

Travis Gettys
August 22, 2022

Herschel Walker speaks to the Class of 2016 during Basic Cadet Training in the U.S. Air Force Academy's Jacks Valley in Colorado Springs. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Republican candidate Herschel Walker questioned the wisdom of spending money on trees to mitigate climate change.

Walker, the Donald Trump-endorsed former football star who won the GOP nomination for Georgia Senate, expressed his opposition to the newly signed Inflation Reduction Act, which boosts spending on climate change preparations and environmental initiatives, during a Republican Jewish Committee event, reported the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“They continue to try to fool you that they are helping you out, but they’re not, because a lot of money it’s going to trees," Walker said. "Don’t we have enough trees around here?”

Walker also criticized the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which Trump abandoned soon after his inauguration, and predicted it would embolden Iran if it was revisited in the future.

“That’s what I don’t get," Walker said. "You’re going to give money to terrorists to be nice to you? He never read the definition of a terrorist, has he? They don’t like you. They like nothing about you.”

Walker also dismissed apparent criticism from Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, who recently questioned the quality of Trump-backed Senate candidates.

“I don’t ever worry about stuff like that,” Walker said. “When I got into this race, I got in this race to win it for the people. I said, ‘Guys, I’m here for the people of Georgia.’ I’m not worried about what people say.”