Trump, who made the announcement Tuesday night on his Truth Social platform, praised Walker for “being a tireless advocate” for youth sports and for his travels to military bases in efforts to remove “the stigma surrounding mental health.” In a 2008 memoir, Walker, who rose to fame in the early 1980s as a running back with the University of Georgia Bulldogs, discussed his mental health struggles.

He was recruited by Trump to run for a Georgia Senate seat in 2022 and lost to the Democratic incumbent, Senator Raphael Warnock. 

A first-time candidate, his personal life became an issue in the campaign. Although he ran as an opponent of abortion, two women accused Walker of encouraging and paying for them to terminate their pregnancies. He denied the allegations.

His former wife and another woman accused him of domestic violence. Walker pointed to mental health issues in response to his wife’s allegations. He denied the claims made by the other woman.

Walker left college in 1983 to sign a then-unprecedented three-year, $5 million contract with the New Jersey Generals of the short-lived United States Football League. Trump later owned the team. 

Walker went on to play on teams in the National Football League. In 1992, he was a member of the US bobsledding team.  

Trump also announced that he would nominate Nicole McGraw as ambassador to Croatia.