‘People have had enough’: Wisconsin Gov. candidate blasts Trump’s rural tour, Iran war

[0:00] In this year's midterms, there has been a large focus on the battle for control of the U.S. House [0:05] and Senate. We talk about it all the time. But it's Democratic governors who are serving on [0:10] the front lines of the fights against President Trump's agenda. They actually have power to do [0:14] something. According to the Cook Political Report, some of the most competitive governors' races in [0:19] the country are taking shape in Arizona, Iowa, Georgia, Nevada, and Wisconsin. One problem for [0:27] Republicans ahead of Election Day, Trump doesn't exactly seem enthusiastic about visiting those [0:33] states. Here he is in Wisconsin on Friday. I don't need this. I got elected. I don't have [0:39] what the hell do I have to be here for? I got elected. I'm here because I like the farmer. [0:44] I mean, when you think about it, I guess there's a lot of truth to that, right? I could be home [0:48] right now in the beautiful White House, enjoying watching somebody else on television talking. [0:53] Joining us now is a candidate for governor in one of those states. Former Wisconsin [0:59] Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes. Lieutenant Governor, thank you so much for joining us. [1:03] I want to also play something else from President Trump's appearance on Friday with these farmers [1:10] talking about fertilizer. Listen to this. [1:13] Your fertilizer prices are going to go way down, just like they were four months ago. Your fertilizer [1:19] is down. Your energy is down. Your oil, your gas is all coming way down. We're also helping [1:25] bring down grocery prices for hardworking Americans, and they're coming down very rapidly. [1:30] Remember, I inherited these prices. I didn't start. My prices were great. [1:37] In the president's view, everything is coming down very rapidly. I don't think that [1:41] was the facts bear that out just yet. Does gas fighting work in Wisconsin? [1:47] Well, thanks again for having me. And I'm just going to say that why do we have to wait for prices [1:52] to go down? And for the president to say that he inherited, he's been in office for a year and a [1:57] half now. He drove these prices up with illegal wars of choice, bombing Iran, invading other [2:04] countries, also the illegal trade war that he got us in. And to tell somebody that they have to wait [2:12] a few more weeks for prices to go down, let me tell you, there has been permanent harm and permanent [2:16] damage done to small business owners, permanent damage to family farmers and consumers also who [2:23] have had to pay the increased cost due to Donald Trump's poor decision making. Now, to that point [2:28] with gas prices still up at historic highs, people have had to put off vacations for the Memorial Day [2:35] weekend that we had just a little while ago. People are making very difficult decisions about what they [2:40] can and can't do with their summer vacation. You know who that impacts? Small businesses. It impacts [2:45] tourism. A state like Wisconsin is already dealing with the worst of this Donald Trump presidency and [2:51] there's not much more we can take. Lieutenant Governor, you are running for the nomination for [3:01] governor. You have run statewide office multiple times. I am wondering, what is the mood of the [3:10] Wisconsin electorate? How has it changed over the years? And do you think that the, because the [3:20] president did, yeah, he beat Vice President Harris in the state in the 2024 election. Do you think the [3:27] mood in Wisconsin has shifted such that if you win the nominee, if you win the nomination on Tuesday, [3:34] that you will then be able to take that and become the next governor? [3:38] So I'll tell you, this moment feels much like it did in August 11th, a little bit a ways ago. [3:45] But I will say that this moment reminds me of 2018 when Donald Trump had his first tour as president [3:52] and people dealt with the devastating impacts of that presidency then. And what people are looking [3:58] for now is somebody who's going to provide that immediate relief to one, stand up to Donald Trump [4:02] when he's causing harm, but also bring down costs as soon as possible by expanding health care, [4:08] by making sure that our small businesses have the resources they need to weather these storms, [4:12] and by doing everything we possibly can to create good-paying, lasting jobs in a state like Wisconsin. [4:19] So we led with our values. We led with our vision. Of course, Donald Trump had done a disservice, [4:24] but people needed to know who we were as Democrats, and people had to be confident [4:28] that we were going to fight to improve quality of life. And I've taken on the tough fights before. [4:34] Sometimes you come out on either side of that coin. And I'm fortunate that I have had the progress that [4:41] we made when I was in office standing up to Donald Trump, that people all across Wisconsin know exactly [4:46] how I will stand up and continue to fight for them to make things better, to improve our public schools, [4:52] to improve our roads and bridges, and ultimately get more money back into the pockets of hard work [4:57] and people by holding the wealthy and the elite accountable, by taxing the billionaires and [5:02] ensuring that all of the services that have been lacking in a state like Wisconsin, which has been [5:08] the case all across the country, we're going to make sure that we turn that whole broken system [5:14] upside down and make sure that the same union households like the one that I was born in [5:19] can be able to put food on the table, to make sure that people can go to a doctor and not worry [5:23] about a surprise bill. That's what this fight is about. And Donald Trump has been against it every [5:27] step of the way, along with Tom Tiffany, his handpicked candidate for governor of Wisconsin. [5:33] People have had enough and they're going to show up to the polls and make those concerns very loud and [5:39] clear. You know, I believe, I think Eugene mentioned this, that the president very narrowly won [5:46] Wisconsin in 2024. What do you think is the single biggest issue that could turn some of those swing [5:54] voters? It's hard to say any single issue, but if there was an umbrella, I would have to say it's the cost of [6:02] living. It's out of control. Cost of living feels like an issue, you know, for a lot of different [6:07] election cycles, but hasn't been as bad as it's been now. People's wages are not keeping up with [6:13] inflation. People's wages are also not keeping up with greed because there is a level of price gouging [6:18] involved. And I want to talk about that, too, because with gas prices that are going up because of the [6:24] illegal war in Iran, we also see these oil and gas companies making record profits. And that is what [6:30] we are fighting against. We're fighting against those monopolies that have made it difficult for [6:34] our family farmers to compete and have pushed out small businesses. So the one thing that would tip [6:39] the scales is a continued escalation of costs here in Wisconsin or all across the country. But as I [6:47] mentioned earlier, some of those impacts have already been felt. Many of those impacts have [6:53] already been felt, but some of them are permanent. There has been irreversible damage. People may never [6:59] recover from some of Donald Trump's poor narcissistic decision making. And for anybody like a Tom Tiffany [7:06] who's currently serving in Congress, who is using every moment that he has where he could be helping [7:11] out people, Wisconsin, but instead doing the bidding of an out-of-control president who seems to be out [7:17] of his mind, cognitively, not there. And we are having to deal with that impact and the results. [7:25] And it's just not fair. It's not fair. People have had enough. And it is a shame that this man is [7:29] actually still president right now. Former Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, [7:35] whose primary is not until August 11th. I want to make clear up that mistake. I mean, [7:41] thank you very much for coming back to the weekend. [7:45] Thank you so much for having me. Look forward to coming back.