Evers says Barnes has been ‘truthful’ about college degree
MADISON - Gov. Tony Evers said Friday he believed Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes has been honest with voters about not having a college degree, even though Barnes had tweeted photos of himself in a cap and gown.
Barnes’ campaign last year said he had earned a bachelor of arts degree and Barnes told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in November he had “finished” college in 2008.
In May 2018, Barnes posted a photo of himself on Twitter in a cap and gown, writing that he’s “been out of college for 10 years.”
This month Barnes acknowledged he had not graduated from Alabama A&M University.
“I talked to the lieutenant governor about all sorts of things, including this, and I think that he’s been truthful,” the Democratic governor told reporters as Barnes stood by his side.
Barnes cut in as Evers was being asked questions, saying he “absolutely” had been honest with the public about his college experience. He told the Madison weekly Isthmus this month that he hadn’t gotten his degree because he got an incomplete in a class.
“I literally have clarified everything,” Barnes said Friday.
Asked about the photo he tweeted in 2018, Barnes said, “My name was in the graduation book. I was literally there. It’s not like I just popped up and said, ‘Oh, hey guys.’”
He said he hadn’t told the Wisconsin State Journal last year that he earned a college degree, but that a campaign aide had.
“If you look at that email it came from a campaign staff, to the State Journal,” he said. “The record is there, where that came from. That didn’t come from me.”
Barnes’ campaign manager, Justin Bielinski, on Monday told the Journal Sentinel he didn’t specifically remember answering the State Journal questionnaire but said the error was likely “an incorrect assumption on my part.”
“It’s certainly possible that I wrote that Mandela had a BA, as it was my understanding until the story broke last week he did,” said Bielinski, who is now seeking a seat on the Milwaukee Common Council.
Evers said Barnes’ had been honest about the issue.
“I believe those responses are responsible responses and as a result I believe that he’s been truthful,” Evers said.