Herschel Walker may not be the worst choice Donald Trump has made for serving as the United States ambassador to a foreign country. But beating out a felon and a gold-digger being kicked to the curb exceeds a very low bar. It’s probably Trump’s idea of loyalty to Walker for continuing to say nice things about him, though all along, Walker was set up for failure. Herschel was never qualified to run for U.S. Senate, and it should have been embarrassing for him to keep publicly revealing his ineptitude.
Trump described Walker as “a successful businessman, philanthropist, former Heisman Trophy winner.” The success of his business ventures can undoubtedly be challenged. Remember that the man lauding him has six bankruptcies to his credit. Walker has threatened his then-wife with a gun and had violent outbursts. Anyone else would have been jailed; Irving, TX, police only took his gun away and put his address on a “caution list” due to Walker’s violent tendencies.
I was fortunate enough to befriend several Bahamians while in college at Fisk University. Two of them were fraternity brothers, and I have visited the Bahamas several times over the years. The average Bahamian is far better versed in world politics than most Americans. My first visit wasn’t long after the Bahamas gained its independence from Great Britain when Prince Charles handed over the papers on July 10, 1973. With its proximity to the United States, Bahamian's knowledge of American politics and customs also put most Americans to shame. The Bahamian dollar is tied to American currency, so it is affected by the ebbs and flows of the American economy.
Sitting at a dinner table with a Bahamian family was a master class in world politics. One such dinner I attended touched on the politics of several countries across five continents without leaving out the rights and wrongs of their own Prime Minister. I wasn’t surprised by the contributions of my classmate, Freddie, a psychology major and vice president of the Fisk Student Government Association. His younger brother Greg, maybe 15 at the time, knew far more than I did about every topic.
If I returned to that table today, I’m confident I could hold my own, though I cannot guarantee I could sway any of their firmly held opinions. My point is, why send as America’s representative, someone not at the same level as a high school student and who acknowledged suffering from multiple personality disorder and possibly suffers from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) from all the hits to the head he took playing football and his brief MMA career.
The Bahamas hasn’t done anything to deserve Herschel Walker. The nation, which is made up of over 700 islands, wasn’t on Trump’s initial list of “shithole countries,” so why is he sending them a “shithole ambassador?”
For the record, I loved watching Herschel Walker play football. He was as exciting a player as I’ve ever seen at every level. However, those skills didn’t translate to being an effective politician or ambassador. The Bahamas deserve better.
This article originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of William Spivey's work on Medium.