On January 24, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump boarded Air Force One at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Leah Millis | Reuters
President Donald Trump He stopped in Las Vegas on Saturday to detail how tips will begin to be deducted from federal taxes, betting that a city built on gambling and hospitality will be happy to take more of them home.
Trump has vowed to fulfill his campaign promises and will deliver a speech at the Circa Resort & Casino, according to the Culinary Alliance, which represents about 60,000 hotel workers in Nevada. The union supports eliminating the tip tax but says Trump’s proposal doesn’t go far enough.
His presence was meant to inspire supporters and strike a note of gratitude. But this is part of Trump’s trip, and Trump has chosen a series of political fights.
On Friday, he saw firsthand the devastation caused by the storm and heard harrowing stories from survivors of last fall’s Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. In Los Angeles, he witnessed the devastation caused by wildfires, perhaps one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.
Trump toured hard-hit areas by helicopter and walked through streets in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood where every house was reduced to charred rubble.
The president suggested in North Carolina that he would sign an executive order eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency, leaving disaster response and recovery efforts to affected states, with the federal government later stepping in to provide financial assistance.
“You will never be forgotten again. You were treated very badly by the previous administration,” Trump said of the Biden White House.
Later, the Republican president criticized California’s water policies and suggested that funding for post-fire reconstruction should depend on the state enforcing voter ID requirements and reconsidering conservation efforts.
“I’m going to be the president that helps you solve your problems because he can’t help you solve your problems,” Trump said of his Democratic predecessors and the Biden team’s response to the fires.
In Nevada, by contrast, Trump said he wanted to celebrate becoming the first Republican presidential candidate to win the state since George W. Bush in 2024: “I’m going to Nevada Thank them.
This is a common context for talking about tips and taxes. As a candidate, Trump first announced the idea at a rally in Las Vegas last June – a proposal later copied by his Democratic rival Kamala Harris.
White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt said Saturday’s event “will deliver an economy-focused message and President Trump will talk about his intention to deliver on the promises he made to the American people on the campaign trail.”
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there are 2.24 million restaurant servers nationwide, and tips make up a large portion of their income.
In Las Vegas, everyone from waiters and valets to hotel maids and casino dealers fuel the 24-hour economy, and they all charge tips. Nevada has the highest concentration of tipped workers in the country, with about 25.8 waiters and waitresses per 1,000 jobs, followed by Hawaii and Florida.
However, not paying federal taxes may be difficult to implement in the short term and will require congressional action.
Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer of the Culinary Union, said Trump’s plan “must not end with eliminating the tip tax.”
“As is the case in many states across the country, eliminating the tip tax and ending the $2.13 sub-minimum wage will improve the living standards of millions of hotel workers,” Papachi said. He said many people who know employees earn Tipped employers offer hourly wages well below the federal minimum wage and expect tips to make up the difference.
“Addressing both of these issues is critical to ensuring workers are able to provide for their families,” Papageorgi said in a statement.
