LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Vice President Kamala Harris endorsed the idea of ending taxes on tipped income during a rally in Las Vegas Saturday, an idea first floated by former President Donald Trump two months ago.
Her comment on the proposal came at the beginning of her remarks at the Thomas & Mack Center before a packed crowd of about 12,000 people. Her rally was the final stop on a nationwide tour of battleground states with her new running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
"And it is my promise to everyone here that when I am president we will continue our fight for working families of America," she said. "Including raising the minimum wage and to eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers."
The idea — first suggested by Trump during a June 9 rally at Sunset Park in Las Vegas — has since been embraced by Democrats, including Nevada's U.S. Sens. Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto, who have both signed on to a bill by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz on the topic.
Although the Culinary Union Local 226 seemed initially skeptical of the idea, it has since embraced it. The Culinary Union has endorsed Harris and Walz.
But the no-taxes-on-tips proposal may have been the only area of agreement between Harris and Trump at the rally, in which she criticized him on a range of issues from abortion to immigration, to policies for working people.
She outlined her career as a prosecutor taking on for-profit colleges that scammed students, sexual abusers, and fraudsters, noting that Trump has been connected to all three offenses.
"So Nevada, hear me when I say I know Donald Trump's type," she said. "All this to say, in this campaign, I will proudly put my record against his every day of the week."
Harris said she'd push for affordable health care, affordable child care, paid family leave and the ability of everyone to afford a home, as well as challenging corporate landlords over rents and pharmaceutical companies over drug prices.
"Unlike Donald Trump, I will always — I promise you — put the middle class and working families first," she said.
Harris also mentioned immigration, an issue that Republicans have attacked her on repeatedly, calling her a failed "border czar." She accused Trump of killing a bipartisan border policy bill that was pending in Congress, something Trump has acknowledged doing.
Instead, Harris said she favors a comprehensive immigration reform approach that includes a pathway to citizenship for people who've come to the country without authorization. That proposal, however, has failed to get traction in Congress.
The Trump campaign issued a statement in response to the Harris-Walz rally, criticizing her on immigration and the economy.
"Border Czar Kamala Harris' Vice-Presidential pick is just as dangerously liberal as she is. It is no wonder he is eager to join a radical California liberal because he is too," reads the statement from Halee Dobbins, the Republican National Committee's Nevada communications director. "Walz has refused to acknowledge the crisis at our border, repeatedly supported tax hikes, and has imposed woke policies on students in schools throughout his state.
"His track record of supporting far-left policies would be disastrous for Nevadans, who under Kamala Harris have experienced firsthand the detrimental impacts of her own failed policies. A visit from Harris and Walz to the Silver State will do nothing to distract Nevada voters from the horrible reality of Kamala Harris’ economic policies and sky-high inflation. The only way to stop a dangerously liberal Harris-Walz agenda is to vote for President Trump and JD Vance this November 5."
Walz introduces himself to Nevada
Before Harris took the stage, her running mate spent 20 minutes introducing himself to the crowd, recounting his history of serving in the National Guard for 24 years, working as a teacher, a winning football coach, a member of Congress and finally governor of Minnesota.
Walz didn't mention criticism of his retirement from the Guard just prior to its deployment to Iraq in 2005, when he filed paperwork for his first run for Congress. A review by the Associated Press found no evidence that he retired to avoid deploying with the rest of his unit to Iraq.
Walz did tell the crowd that he served as a ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, where he passed an update to the GI Bill that he said helped him pay for college.
Walz touted a hands-off approach to issues, including personal freedom and abortion rights.
"We know in this nation, things work best when you mind your own damn business," he said.
Walz acknowledged at one point he was preaching to the choir, but in urging attendees to vote and work on the campaign, he said, "The choir needs to sing."
Harris headed to California for a fundraiser in San Francisco after the Las Vegas rally, and then back to Washington, D.C.
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