LAS VEGAS \u2014 President Donald Trump is camping in the Nevada desert Thursday to celebrate one of his signature economic promises \u2014 \u201cno tax on tips\u201d \u2014 a policy designed as a lifeline for this city of long odds and last chances.<\/p>\n
For the working-class backbone of Las Vegas, that relief has been welcomed \u2014 and not enough.<\/p>\n
“Gas prices are high. That’s just part of it,” said Wayne, a 66-year-old shoeshine man from North Las Vegas who declined to give his last name. “When you go to buy steak, it used to be $4.99 a pound. And now it’s $9.99.”<\/p>\n
He said, “What can you do? You just have to live with it.”<\/p>\n
The president’s stops in Las Vegas and Arizona this week are his latest effort to reassert a narrative of strength \u2014 despite the Iran war and past changes that have failed to stem his decline in the polls.<\/p>\n
But the White House believes it will get off the ground. Trump will focus on a “no tax on tips” policy that the administration says was inspired by a Las Vegas waitress; The White House is celebrating more tax refunds than usual around Tax Day; And the sweeping economic promises of his \u201cOne Big Beautiful Bill,\u201d according to a White House official granted anonymity to speak candidly.<\/p>\n
It’s a reset the president’s allies strongly want to see \u2014 representing a break from the Iran war in a place away from the Beltway, where Trump can connect with real Americans, as he will at a roundtable in downtown Las Vegas on Thursday afternoon. But they admit that he needs to work harder.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe needs to give them hope that things are going to get better \u2013 that he has a pro-growth agenda, and they will be better off with his policies,\u201d said John McLaughlin, a longtime Trump pollster who carried Nevada for the president during the 2024 campaign.<\/p>\n
The trouble for Trump is that less than seven months before the election, many Americans are not feeling that optimism, and many economic indicators are trending in the wrong direction.<\/p>\n
Few places epitomize that contradiction between what the White House is selling and what average workers are experiencing more than Las Vegas. The city, run by the working-class and Latino coalition that helped elect Trump in 2024, is particularly dependent on tourism and discretionary income from the sudden increase in gas prices.<\/p>\n
“The reality is that for a lot of people, (the refunds) are going to be a buffer against what they’re putting in their gas tank,” said Claudia Sahm, a former Federal Reserve economist and creator of the recession indicator Sahm Rule.<\/p>\n
The University of Michigan’s closely watched consumer sentiment index recently fell to its lowest level on record, underscoring the disconnect between key economic data and how Americans say they feel about their finances.<\/p>\n
And Democrats are more than happy to take advantage of that opportunity. As the president travels to Nevada, he plans to highlight the temporary nature of its “no tax on tips” policy, which expires after tax year 2028. But mostly, he says, the effects of the president’s policies are self-evident on the ground.<\/p>\n
“It’s sad to say that I don’t need to talk a lot and send a lot of messages because citizens are realizing it,” Daniel Monroe-Moreno, chair of the Nevada state Democratic Party, said in an interview. “The story speaks for itself.”<\/p>\n