Hitting Ten Counties in Five Days, Lt. Governor Barnes Met With Families, Farmers, and Small Business Owners To Slam Trump’s Price Hikes on Wisconsin
Ahead of Trump’s State of the Union, Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes hit the road across Wisconsin on his “Reject The Washington Way” tour, a statewide blitz to meet with farmers, small business owners, and families living with the real costs of Trump and Tiffany’s Washington Way agenda.
While Trump used his State of the Union to tell lies that served his billionaire donors, Lt. Governor Barnes traveled to Madison, Granton, Stevens Point, Catawba, Superior, Ashland, Bayfield, River Falls, Adams, and Milwaukee to tell the truth: Trump’s Washington Way is failing Wisconsin families, killing family farms, and putting small businesses under.
“We’re all feeling overwhelmed with out-of-control costs and the chaos and division that Donald Trump and Tom Tiffany have created. We have families who are choosing between groceries and rent. Our farmers are getting crushed by tariffs, as well as our small business owners, who continue to see their costs spiral,” said Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes in Superior
Across the state, Lt. Governor Barnes laid out his Wisconsin Way agenda to actually make life more affordable including expanding BadgerCare on Day One, delivering a middle class tax cut by closing loopholes for the ultra-wealthy, and making sure everyone feels safe in their community.
See more below:
KQSD (Fox 21 Superior): Mandela Barnes talks tariffs during Reject the Washington Way tour
[Emily Halling, 2/24/26]
- Ahead of President Trump’s state of the union address tonight, a candidate for Wisconsin governor, and former Lieutenant Governor, Mandela Barnes is touring the state addressing Trump and Tom Tiffany’s “Washington Way” agenda.
- Barnes is focusing on President Trump’s tariffs that he said is raising prices on healthcare, childcare, housing and groceries. The conference was joined by Superior Mayor Jim Paine, alongside small business owners and Wisconsin residents…
- “We’re all feeling overwhelmed with out-of-control costs and the chaos and division that Donald Trump and Tom Tiffany have created. We have families who are choosing between groceries and rent. Our farmers are getting crushed by tariffs, as well as our small business owners, who continue to see their costs spiral,” said Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.
- Barnes hopes for a future of fully funded schools across the state, because he said every child deserves quality education, regardless of zip code.
WAOW (ABC 9 Wausau): Barnes talks on the effects of tariffs with local dairy farmer
[Kaoyeng Lee, 2/23/26]
- As tensions surrounding President Trumps tariffs continue to intensify across the nation, former Lieutenant Governor and candidate for Governor, Mandela Barnes visited Hillside Dairy Farm to discuss the issues local farmers are facing.
- “Donald Trump and Tom Tiffany have been incredibly terrible when it comes to policy for rural Wisconsin, specifically agricultural policy,” says Barnes.
- Something, Dairy Farm Owner Linda Ceylor can agree with. “Tariffs affect my farm and the cost of everything that I buy is certainly going up without tariffs. With tariffs it just increases the amount of cost further,” says Ceylor.
- “We have tractors and any farm equipment you think you can find on a dairy farm. A lot of the parts are made overseas, other places. It’s just amazing how the cost has gone up on that and tariffs are just not helping,” says Ceylor.
- Barnes also criticized Tom Tiffany for his ongoing support of Trump’s tariffs. “Tariffs that Tom Tiffany has celebrated,” says Barnes. “He says this was a good thing and if this is his belief then it shows that he has not had a conversation with a single farmer about what is truly going on here in the state of Wisconsin.”
- Anchor: Leaders met with Democratic candidate for governor Mandela Barnes. Natalie Harris and her husband have been running Superior Waffles for nearly 5 years. She said people have been cutting back on their orders or not coming in at all. And they are paying more for supplies and equipment.
- Natalie Harris, owner of Superior Waffles: We work hard, we love what we do. But we need leaders who understand what it actually takes to run a small business and keep it alive in a community like this.
- Mandela Barnes: From Bayfield to Beloit, from Green Bay to La Crosse, everywhere in between. You hear these stories about small businesses that are being impacted [by tariffs]
- Anchor: “Barnes blamed corporate greed for the decline of Wisconsin family farms…Barnes said the state could lighten the load on family farms by incentivizing programs like farm-to-school and by passing legislation to support farmers. He also drew a parallel between impoverished communities in Wisconsin cities and rural communities. That pressure, he said, causes people to blame each other.”
- Mandela Barnes: “When people point fingers at each other, it’s what leads to the worst outcomes… a distrust of one another when in fact—we are all in the same exact boat while those who made life hard for everybody continue to get away without facing consequence.”
- Anchor: “Barnes criticized Tom Tiffany for supporting Trump’s tariffs, which Barnes said increased equipment costs for struggling family farms.”
UpNorthNews: Watch: Mandela Barnes begins statewide tour to hit Tiffany on being a puppet for Trump
[Pat Kreitlow, 2/20/26]
- Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes outlined his statewide tour planned to coincide with President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech. He says, as Trump’s policies hurt Wisconsin, voters need a governor who will stand up to Washington — and that’s not Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, who votes with Trump in Congress no matter the impact back home on the price of groceries, utilities, housing, and health care.
