Commentator Ripped For Saying Herschel Walker Talks Like 'Countless Blacks'

A commentator who compared Herschel Walker's so-called "stupid" speech to that of "countless Blacks in the Deep South" has earned intense scorn—largely from Black people who come from the South.

Michael Tracey, a journalist and recurring guest on the Fox News show Tucker Carlson Tonight, tweeted his response to critics of Georgia's GOP Senate candidate on Wednesday night. Trump-backed Herschel Walker and Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock are headed to a runoff election on December 6 after neither candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote this month.

"Herschel Walker doesn't come across as the ideal US Senator, but the main reason he's called 'stupid' seems to be because he speaks in a heavy regional dialect, with lots of colloquialisms. This alone does not make him 'stupid'––he sounds like countless Blacks in the Deep South," said Tracey.

Tracey has taken center stage in a range of political controversies. He accused Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of "emotional manipulation" after she detailed her experience of the January 6 riots and said she was a survivor of sexual assault.

In 2017, he said that Representative Maxine Waters "shoved" him while he asked questions, although video footage showed her simply walking past him and pushing his hand aside. The commentator has also drawn attention for downplaying allegations that former President Donald Trump colluded with Russia during the 2016 U.S. elections.

Tracey's name, the phrase "Countless Blacks" and the phrase "Deep South" were all trending on Twitter by Thursday. His characterization of Walker's accent was broadly repudiated by people who shared their own experiences in the Southern Black community.

"Speaking as a Black from the South with lots of family in the Deep South...we don't sound like that," responded New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie in a tweet with 14,000 likes.

Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Jaime Harrison joined in the wave of indignation.

"Looking in the mirror... yup still Black," he said in a tweet. "Looking at my map location... yup still in the Deep South (South Carolina). In my 46 [years] as a Black man in the Deep South, I know no folks who sound or speak like Walker, and definitely no one who lies like him. Zero."

Josh Marshall, founder of the news website Talking Points Memo, also chimed in. He tweeted, "I think what people say about Walker is that much of his speech is disjointed, absurd, borderline aphasic. It's not southern African-American dialect. This is just a dumb racist comment. 'Countless blacks.' Smh."

Several users pointed out that Georgia's Democratic Senate candidate, Warnock, is also a Black man from the South whose speech bears little resemblance to Walker's. Others noted that Walker lost Black voters by a significant margin. Warnock received 90 percent of the Black vote in the midterm election, compared with Walker's 8 percent, according to the NBC News Exit Poll.

Newsweek reached out to Tracey for comment.