Scott Walker Is The Ultimate Embarrassing Dad

Now that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is running for president, the entire nation is being reminded of the most embarrassing moments of Walker's career. And we're not talking embarrassing like Obama's dad jeans (though Walker apparently likes to rock the jorts in his down time, much to his sons' humiliation). No, instead Walker manages to talk himself into all kinds of ludicrous and cringeworthy moments.

Does anyone else remember when Walker got pranked back in 2011 by a blogger who called and pretended to be David Koch? The notoriously wealthy Koch brothers were major donors to Walker's gubernatorial campaign, so when they came calling, it made sense that Walker would answer. At the time, he was dealing with massive protests, and the prankster was particularly keen on hearing Walker's thoughts on the matter. When the prankster (also known as Ian Murphy) suggested planting "troublemakers" within the crowds of protestors, Walker didn't protest. Instead he responded, "We thought about that." He later countered, saying that it would be better for the protests to play out and let the media lose interest. He did not, however, indicate any moral or ethical problem with framing peaceful protestors and attempting to discredit their cause.

However, that was back in 2011. A lot can change for a presidential hopeful in four years, and we shouldn't necessarily judge him based on what was said while he was being pranked. So here are five other embarrassingly cringe-worthy moments from the governor.

When He Tried So Hard To Look Cool On A Motorcycle

Alright, the idea of a president riding a Harley into the White House does seem pretty neat. But Walker tries so hard to remind us that he's cool and into motorcycles. He's vowed to ride his hog through several upcoming campaign stops, and he continuously references Harley-Davidson to the point where you have to wonder if a sponsorship is in the works anytime soon. The bike might help his image a bit, but he still looks kind of dorky on it. Sorry, Walker. But the good news is, the bike obsession is the least of his worries.

When He Almost Got Recalled

And it wasn't anything at all like Leslie Knope's recall election. After standing his ground against unions in Wisconsin, Democrats and union members were able to generate enough support to petition a recall election for Walker in 2012, meaning that he had to re-run for office. It was only the third time that a U.S. governor has been recalled, and Walker became the only governor to ever win a recall election. Recall elections are typically held when the public feels an elected official has egregiously messed up or is not properly representing their interests. Walker's ability to survive the recall and "defeat the unions" twice propelled him to stardom within the Republican Party.

When His Kids Don't Even Agree With His Policies

You have to give credit to Walker's family for being honest and daring enough to go against Walker's policy. But the fact remains that even Walker's sons Alex and Matt don't agree with his negative stance on same-sex marriage. The family made headlines when wife Tonette Walker told The Washington Post her sons were disappointed in their father's reaction to the Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage. Though they have since reaffirmed their support for their father, Walker's sons aren't changing their minds. Tonette said she was "torn." Which has got to be kind of embarrassing for Walker.

When He Got Caught Gossiping About Obama

Like most presidential hopefuls, Walker went abroad before announcing his campaign, in order to drudge up support in other countries as well as beef up his (non-existent) foreign policy experience. After coming home, Walker told a roomful of Republican supporters that Cameron and everyone else in the world basically hates Obama.

"I heard that from David Cameron back in February earlier when we were over at 10 Downing," Walker said. "I heard it from other leaders around the world. They're looking around realizing this lead from behind mentality just doesn't work. It’s just not working."

Too bad Cameron wasn't interested in getting sucked into the middle-school drama. "The Prime Minister did not say that and does not think that," one of Cameron's spokesmen said to TIME. Whoops.

When He Compared Fighting Unions To Fighting ISIS

I mean, it's an easy mistake. There's not much difference between fighting for higher minimum wage and being an international terrorist organization, after all. According to Walker, although he has no foreign policy experience, he's more than prepared to fight against ISIS as president. "We need a leader with that kind of confidence," Walker said back in February. "If I can take on 100,000 protesters, I can do the same across the world." According to Slate, this wasn't the first time he's made the comparison.

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