LAS VEGAS — Donald Trump promised a massive break to hospitality workers at his first post-conviction rally in Nevada on Sunday — vowing to nix taxes on employee tips if re-elected.
“When I get to office, we are going to not charge taxes on tips, on people making tips,” the Republican former president and 2024 presidential candidate, 77, claimed to the crowd in sweltering Sunset Park, where temps topped 100 degrees.
The declaration drew a roar from the gathering, which vastly exceeded the reported 6,000 tickets issued.
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In July, Nevada’s minimum wage for tipped employees will rise to $4.35 an hour, but employers will still be required to make sure those workers earn a total of at least $9.50 an hour.
Trump also lambasted “Crooked Joe” Biden, 81, and dismissed the president’s recent immigration executive order as “bulls–t,” prompting the crowd to chant the word several times.
Last week, the Biden administration finally tried to start correcting its disastrous border policies by claiming it would stop processing asylum claims after certain thresholds — although the threat appears to be doing nothing to dissuade illegal crossings.
Trump took the stage and immediately asked, “It’s not too hot out here, is it?
“They were so worried that we issued a warning, ‘Don’t come,’ so only 20,000 showed up,” quipped the ex-prez, who was convicted of felony business fraud at his Manhattan hush-money trial last month.
Whether it was a Greg and Tammy Haase of Las Vegas standing by the “Trump 2024” flag flying from the rear of their pickup, or those waiting patiently in line for several hours just to enter the sectioned-off park area for the rally, support for the presumptive GOP nominee was palpable.
“It’s going to be a great day,” Greg Haase declared as the rally kicked off, while his wife, wearing an American flag print dress, nodded.
Retired electrician David Stephan, 61, said the 2024 presidential contest is the first in which he’ll be voting. He said that until this year, he “didn’t think there was anyone worth voting for.”
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But with four years of President Biden, “the country is falling apart, the prices of food” are going up — and it’s all driving him to the voting booth, Stephan said.
Vegas resident Lisa London choked up as the national anthem was sung before Trump arrived on stage.
“I have been dying to see Trump,” she said.
Mining consultant Gary Walters of Las Vegas — who said he first registered to vote for the 2020 ballot — declared that Trump “has the potential to shift Clark County,” where Las Vegas is located and which historically votes blue.
Walters said the only potential problem would be Trump’s criminal conviction, which he felt might inhibit some swing voters.
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Phillip Karpinski of Las Vegas was steadfast in his support of Trump.
“You may not like Trump, but he was right about the economy, right about foreign policy and right about the border. And obviously, Biden’s been wrong about all three,” the retired mental-health counselor said.