Former president Donald Trump’s first campaign event in Nevada since his Democratic rival Joe Biden dropped out was billed as an event to tout Trump’s “no tax on tips” policy.
But that message was overshadowed by Arizona independent candidate Robert F Kennedy’s announcement that he was dropping out of the race and endorsing Trump.
“We just had a very nice endorsement from RFK,” Trump said at the Las Vegas campaign event Friday.
Trump said it was “a great honor” to receive Kennedy’s endorsement, adding he would be meeting with him soon to discuss his support. Despite Kennedy’s declining polling numbers and past controversies, Trump praised him and his endorsement.
“Not everyone agrees with everything he says. That’s true of everybody, but he’s a very respected person. He’s a very beloved person in many ways,” Trump said.
Kennedy joined Trump during a campaign event in Arizona on Friday following Trump’s Las Vegas event.
With Kennedy no longer campaigning in critical battleground states, his voters are up for grabs in tight swing states. Following the endorsement, Trump’s campaign team said they believe a majority of Kennedy’s Nevada voters will break for Trump based on their own internal modeling, making his exit a net positive for Trump in major swing states.
The latest The New York Times and Siena College poll shows Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, his new rival for the presidency, neck-and-neck in Nevada — a state Biden won four years ago — with Trump leading Harris 48% to 47%.
“We’re going to win. The state is looking very good,” Trump said Friday.
It’s far from clear what if any impact Kennedy’s departure from the race will have in Nevada. Trump’s lead over Harris was actually larger when the NYT-Siena poll included Kennedy in the mix, putting Trump at 45%, Harris at 42%, and Kennedy garnering 6%.
Friday’s campaign event was Trump’s first Nevada appearance since rival Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris earlier last month.
The low-profile affair held in a Las Vegas restaurant also came within 24 hours of the last night of a raucous Democratic National Convention that officially nominated Harris.
Trump delivered remarks pushing his “no tax on tips” policy proposal at the Toro E La Capra restaurant, located near Sunset Road and Decatur Boulevard. The proposal would abolish federal income taxes on tips.
Trump first unveiled the policy during a campaign rally in Las Vegas in June. The policy was quickly endorsed by the politically connected Culinary Workers Union in Las Vegas.
At Friday’s event, Trump suggested his declaration to end the federal taxation of tipped income would earn him voters from Culinary workers.
“We want to get the Culinary Union,” Trump said. “A lot of them are voting for us, I can tell you that.”
The Culinary, however, has endorsed Harris, and prior to Trump’s remarks Friday, Culinary officials held an event and issued a statement slamming Trump.
“Kamala Harris has promised to raise the minimum wage for all workers – including tipped workers – and eliminate tax on tips,” said Culinary Vice President Leain Vashon.
Vashon said Trump didn’t help tipped workers while he was president, so “Why would we trust him? Kamala has a plan, Trump has a slogan.”
While details on Trump’s tax policy are scant, the policy proposal quickly gained steam, leading Nevada Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen to back a “no tax on tips,” bill introduced by Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.
Harris later proposed her own “no tax on tips” policy.
“Kamala Harris is now pretending to endorse my policy,” Trump said. “She’s a copycat. She’s a flip flopper.”
Harris’ position — similar to legislation Nevada Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford said he will sponsor — eliminates federal taxation on tips, but would also eliminate the federal subminimum wage on tipped incomes, which can be as low as $2.13 an hour.
Trump Friday criticized Harris’ support for legislation in 2021 to raise the federal minimum wage to $15, noting that legislation also would have eliminated the federal “tip credit” provision.
That is the provision in federal law that allows employers to pay tipped workers less than the federal minimum wage.
“Kamala supports a bill to eliminate the federal tip credit, which would force restaurants to impose large service charges on diners, meaning customers will not leave tips at all, and you’ll be stuck with a minimum wage,” Trump said. “I will never let that happen under the Trump administration.”
Horsford has said his legislation would also include guardrails designed to prevent employers or high-end earners from exploiting the elimination of federal taxation of tips.
The policy may have some appeal in the Silver State. Nevada has one of the largest shares of tipped workers in the nation. Nevada is also one of only seven states that have abolished the subminimum wage for tipped workers altogether.
Nationally, as many as 4.3 million people work in predominantly tipped occupations in the United States, according to the National Employment Law Project. Women also make up more than two-thirds of the tipped workforce, according to the National Woman’s Center. Tipped workers are also more than twice as likely to live in poverty compared to the overall workforce.
Neither the Culinary nor congressional backers can provide an estimate of how much of a financial impact would actually be realized if tips weren’t taxed.
An analysis by the left-leaning Center for American Progress projects that “exempting tips from income taxes does nothing for tipped workers whose earnings are so low that they are already exempt from income taxes.”
The group points to an estimate from the Yale Budget Lab indicating at least a third of tipped workers don’t make enough to pay any income taxes, and for moderate wage tipped workers who do pay income taxes, any tax relief from not taxing the tipped portion of their income would be small.
Harris and Trump are set to debate Sept. 10.
Mojave (Nev.) head football coach Wes Pacheco announced on Sunday morning that he’s stepping down from his position, according to a social media post.
Pacheco announced his resignation after six seasons at the helm of the Rattlers, putting together a 29-22 overall record from 2020-2025.
“I have officially stepped down as Head Coach of the Mojave Football Program,” Pacheco said in his social media post. “Thank you to Principal Cole for giving me the opoortunity make an impact on the lives of Mojave Student-Athletes. I am grateful and blessed to have labored through a 6-year journey of successes, failures, life lessons, character building and growth with the student-athletes myself and my coaching staff have served. I will forever love my Mojave Family, the Mojave Community and believe in the notion that SUCCESS can be attained by showcasing character, treating everyone with respect, and always have the courage to dream big and trust that “ATTACKING THE HARD WORK” & “HIGH MOTORING EVERYTHING” can yield SUCCESS that you want to achieve in life!”
During Pacheco’s half dozen seasons leading Mojave, his best record came in the 2024 season when the Rattlers finished with a 12-1 record. Located out of North Las Vegas, Mojave had to compete against the likes of national high school football powerhouse Bishop Gorman during the regular season.
Mojave ended the last season with a 4-6 record and as the state’s No. 23rd ranked team, according to the final 2025 Nevada High School Football Massey Rankings.
Mojave High School, located in North Las Vegas, NV, is a dynamic public high school that fosters academic excellence, personal growth, and community involvement. Home of the Rattlers, MHS offers a wide range of academic programs, athletics, and extracurricular activities. With a strong commitment to student success, Mojave emphasizes leadership, college and career readiness, and a supportive school culture that prepares students for life beyond graduation.
For Nevada high school football fans looking to keep up with scores around the nation, staying updated on the action is now easier than ever with the Rivals High School Scoreboard. This comprehensive resource provides real-time updates and final scores from across the Silver State, ensuring you never miss a moment of the Friday night frenzy. From nail-biting finishes to dominant performances, the Rivals High School Scoreboard is your one-stop destination for tracking all the high school football excitement across Nevada.
A recent Review-Journal letter to the editor mischaracterized Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act, also known as the Clark County Lands bill. As the former executive director of the Nevada Conservation League, I wholeheartedly support this legislation, so I wanted to set the record straight.
Sen. Cortez Masto has been working on this bill for years in partnership with state and local governments, conservation groups like the NCL and local area tribes. It’s true that the Clark County lands bill would open 25,000 acres to help Las Vegas grow responsibly, while setting aside 2 million acres for conservation. It would also help create more affordable housing throughout the valley while ensuring our treasured public spaces can be preserved for generations to come.
What is not correct is that the money from these land sales would go to the federal government’s coffers. In fact, the opposite is true.
The 1998 Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act is a landmark bill that identified specific public land for future sale and created a special account ensuring all land sale revenues would come back to Nevada. In accordance with that law 5 percent of revenue from land transfers goes to the state of Nevada for general education purposes, 10 percent goes to the Southern Nevada Water Authority for needed water infrastructure and 85 percent supports conservation and environmental mitigation projects in Southern Nevada. This legislation has provided billions to Clark County and will continue to benefit generations of Southern Nevadans. Sen. Cortez Masto’s lands bill builds upon the act’s success.
So here’s the good news: All of the money generated from land made available for sale under Sen. Cortez Masto’s bill would be sent to the special account created by the 1998 law. Rather than going to an unaccountable federal government, the proceeds would continue to help kids in Vegas get a better education, bolster outdoor recreation and modernize Southern Nevada’s infrastructure.
I know how important it is that money generated from the sale of public land in Nevada stay in the hands of Nevadans, and so does the senator. That’s why she opposed a Republican effort last year to sell off 200,000 acres of land in Clark County and other areas of the country that would have sent those dollars directly to Washington.
Public land management in Nevada should benefit Nevadans. We should protect sacred cultural sites and beloved recreation spaces, responsibly transfer land for affordable housing when needed and ensure our state has the resources it needs to grow sustainably. I will continue working with Sen. Cortez Masto to advocate for legislation, such as the Clark County lands bill, that puts the needs of Nevadans first.
Paul Selberg writes from Las Vegas.
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Las Vegas High’s baseball team claimed a 3-2 home win over Coronado on Friday.
Las Vegas (9-13-1) next hosts Rancho at 10 a.m. Saturday. Coronado (13-14) hosts Chaparral at 3:30 p.m. Monday.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
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