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Mandela Barnes: “It's not transgender students that are driving up costs at…”

Featuring: Mandela Barnes, Democratic | Former Candidate, U.S. Senate Wisconsin

Campaign 2026: Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) - Candidate for Governor

Published July 22, 2026 | Video Starts at 14:59

… this as a way to evade accountability on other issues where they have failed people of this state and failed the people of this country. And I can tell you It's not transgender students that are driving up costs at the grocery store. It's not transgender students who are going to Iraq or, excuse me, Iran, waging a war that's driving up oil and gas prices. (14:59–15:04)

CLAIM

Asserts that transgender students are not responsible for rising grocery costs.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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Mandela Barnes

“The former governor implemented the largest cut in public education in the state's history.”
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“If we have a uniform set of accountability for any school receiving a dime of public dollars... over half the schools would be out.”
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“It's not transgender students who have been getting away with tax breaks that have created the world's first trillionaire and destabilizing…”
Campaign 2026: Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) - Candidate for Governor | Uploaded July 22, 2026 | 15:11-15:21
“ICE is about as unpopular as the president, maybe less so.”
Campaign 2026: Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) - Candidate for Governor | Uploaded July 22, 2026 | 22:39-22:44
“Public sentiment on immigration enforcement in this country is an all-time low, even with Republicans.”
Campaign 2026: Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) - Candidate for Governor | Uploaded July 22, 2026 | 25:44-25:52
“The affordability crisis is something that is new to a lot of folks, but it has been a consistent problem.”
Campaign 2026: Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) - Candidate for Governor | Uploaded July 22, 2026 | 01:10-01:17
“There was a study that showed that [the deal] would have created a structural deficit.”
Campaign 2026: Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) - Candidate for Governor | Uploaded July 22, 2026 | 01:59-02:07
“We need to create a system of long term permanent affordability for folks where we tax the wealthy, we tax billionaires, we tax out of state…”
Campaign 2026: Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) - Candidate for Governor | Uploaded July 22, 2026 | 02:14-02:22
“My plan says that if you aren't paying a living wage, you don't deserve tax breaks.”
Campaign 2026: Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) - Candidate for Governor | Uploaded July 22, 2026 | 03:54-04:00
“If you're threatening to outsource American jobs, Wisconsin jobs, artificial intelligence, you don't deserve tax breaks.”
Campaign 2026: Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) - Candidate for Governor | Uploaded July 22, 2026 | 04:01-04:08
“Minnesota is just a little bit higher than ours. And guess what? Didn't kill the economy. They're creating more jobs, more people are moving…”
Campaign 2026: Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) - Candidate for Governor | Uploaded July 22, 2026 | 04:42-04:50
“Fully funding our schools means the state needs to meet its commitment of 2/3 funding.”
Campaign 2026: Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) - Candidate for Governor | Uploaded July 22, 2026 | 05:28-05:34
“The 2/3 funding is the benchmark.”
Campaign 2026: Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) - Candidate for Governor | Uploaded July 22, 2026 | 07:33-07:35
“We also have a very high child poverty rate in this state.”
Campaign 2026: Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) - Candidate for Governor | Uploaded July 22, 2026 | 08:05-08:09
“The program should not be statewide, for sure. The program should not have the income gaps lifted.”
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“It has completely destabilized public education in Wisconsin.”
Campaign 2026: Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) - Candidate for Governor | Uploaded July 22, 2026 | 11:46-11:51
“It's not transgender students who are going to Iraq or, excuse me, Iran, waging a war that's driving up oil and gas prices.”
Campaign 2026: Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) - Candidate for Governor | Uploaded July 22, 2026 | 15:03-15:12
“I do want to get rid of Act 10.”
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“Act 10 opens the door for bargaining, for negotiating.”
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“These data centers have proven a level of irresponsibility and that level of irresponsibility is causing real harm.”
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“There's no reason we should be subsidizing data centers here in Wisconsin.”
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“Why should we give $2 billion or any, any money to trillion dollar companies?”
Campaign 2026: Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) - Candidate for Governor | Uploaded July 22, 2026 | 18:43-18:49
“Significant pay increases for executives, those bonus packages, that's not a reasonable cost.”
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“Using ratepayer dollars for lobbying and political donations, that's also driving up costs.”
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“Our utility companies aren't truly at risk.”
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“We put out our plan to temporarily freeze the race.”
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“Local law enforcement should get involved [in immigration enforcement] if we're talking about a person that's wanted for a dangerous…”
Campaign 2026: Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) - Candidate for Governor | Uploaded July 22, 2026 | 21:36-21:40
“If a facility is not [keeping people safe], then of course, the facility should be closed down.”
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“We need to do a much better job at rehabilitation.”
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“I'm not cutting any resources [for law enforcement].”
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“The Department of Homeland Security needs to be completely revamped.”
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“We need to create a more just and a more humane immigration enforcement agency.”
Campaign 2026: Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) - Candidate for Governor | Uploaded July 22, 2026 | 26:15-26:21
“Republican legislators see [transgender issues] as a way to evade accountability on other issues where they have failed people of this…”
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“If ICE agents... run afoul of the Constitution, they should be prosecuted.”
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“When those jobs were shipped overseas because [A.O. Smith] executives felt they could make more money, it left an entire void.”
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“We see this egregious accumulation of wealth into the hands of a few people while working class people continue to get left behind.”
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“We see the decline of more manufacturing jobs and job growth in lower income and lower salary jobs.”
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“We have a wealth of opportunity in clean energy manufacturing here in Wisconsin and we need to take advantage of it.”
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