Herschel Walker says people worried about high insulin costs should just ‘eat right’

Herschel Walker, the GOP candidate for a U.S. Senate seat in Georgia, said people worried about the high cost of insulin should “eat right” in his only debate against Sen. Raphael Warnock (D- Ga.) Friday.

During an exchange on the economy and the high cost of living, Warnock touted his work in passing legislation lowering prescription drug prices, including a $35 cap on monthly insulin costs. . He noted that Walker opposed the law, which is called the Inflation Reduction Act.

Walker responded by saying that the Inflation Reduction Act had not reduced inflation. Then he argued that people who need insulin should think about eating better.

“I believe in lowering insulin, but at the same time eating right. I know a lot of people who are on insulin. Unless you eat right, insulin doesn’t do you any good. So you’ve got to get food prices down and you’ve got to cut gas so you can get insulin,” the GOP nominee said.

Medical experts say that maintaining a healthy diet can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. But eating a healthy diet would not help people with type 1 diabetes, who cannot produce insulin at all and who find it difficult to buy.

The Georgia Senate race is one of the key battles in the upcoming election that could determine control of the Senate. Warnock, a pastor who won his seat in a runoff in 2021, is seeking his first full term.

Public polls showed Warnock with a small but consistent lead over Walker. If no candidate obtains more than 50% of the votes in November, there will be a second round.

Expectations were low for Walker ahead of Friday’s debate. The former football star himself admitted that Warnock would surpass him on a debate stage. “I’m not that smart,” Walker said last month. But the Republican challenger was aggressive and mostly resisted the incumbent senator. He did not cope as Democrats hoped.

Moderators have never really pressed Walker to explain reports that he paid for a former girlfriend to have an abortion in 2009, despite claiming to oppose abortion. Walker again denied that it ever happened, and the debate moved on to other topics.

In a notable exchange, a moderator chastised Walker for displaying an “incidental” police badge after Warnock rang him for pretending to be a police officer.