LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Former President Donald Trump was in town this weekend for events both large and small in the swing state that he knows is critical on his path to the White House.
"We win this state, we're going to win the whole thing. We win this we're going to win the whole thing," Trump said at his rally on Friday.
I met with the former president here at the Trump International Hotel to ask him about an issue that's been on the minds of locals since this campaign began...
The Economy
Steve: I wanted to find out from you, what one policy or program would you pursue that you think is most important that would help local Las Vegans in terms of the economy?
This is what the former president had to say:
"As far as hotel workers and things as you know, no tax on tips is going to be very good. Also as we announced last week, and I think it's going to be — even maybe in a certain — way more important, no tax on overtime. And then for the seniors, which will be fantastic because they've been devastated by inflation — this makes up for it, this would just about make up for it — we're going to have no tax on social security benefits. So those three things are going to be great for this area."
Earlier this year, Trump proposed a "No Tax On Tips" policy at a rally in June and recently held an event in August specific to the proposal here in Las Vegas. The push for no taxes on tipped income was again mentioned during his campaign rally on Friday, and now Trump has gone further with these proposals for no taxes on overtime pay and social security benefits.
Nevada is home to plenty of hourly workers and retirees who would benefit from those proposals, but I also wanted to know how Trump planned to pay for the revenue lost when those taxes are cut and what effect it might have on the federal debt.
Steve: Once you take that revenue out of the federal budget, how are you going to replace that?
Trump said:
"We're going to have tremendous growth — you know, drill, baby, drill. We have more liquid gold under our feet than anybody else, and we're going to be charging countries that have been ripping us off for years with tariffs. And the tariffs will make us... we'll have money like we never had before."
I followed up in our exclusive interview to ask the former president if tariffs wouldn't undercut the gains people would see with tax cuts since economists believe prices would rise in response to tariffs.
Trump told me tariffs were necessary to cut trade deficits and might even end up creating jobs in the United States.
Trump said:
"You know, when you have a 100% tariff on a nation, better than the money is the fact that they're not going to pay it very long, and they're going to build a plant here. If they build a plant here, there is no tariff."
The idea of tariffs is one of the things that old-school, free-trade Republicans find frustrating about Trump.
I asked him about the group "Republicans for Harris," members of the GOP who say that while they disagree with Harris on issues, Trump presents a threat to democratic governance.
Steve: If there was a Republican for Harris in the room with us, what would you tell them in terms of persuading them to vote for you as opposed to vote for Harris?
Trump said:
"I probably wouldn't tell them anything because maybe it would be a personality problem, maybe they don't like the way I was tough on China. You know, a lot of them don't want me to be tough on China. A lot of them don't want me to be tough on anybody."
This weekend will not be former President Trump's last visit. He's promised to return to the Silver State before the election on November 5.
In a statement to Channel 13 from the Harris-Walz 2024 campaign, spokesperson Joseph Costello said:
“Donald Trump is in denial of the fundamental economic facts agreed upon by even conservative experts: His agenda will shrink the economy, crush job growth, raise taxes on the middle class, drive up inflation, and explode the national debt. Vice President Harris has a positive vision to strengthen the economy by building up the middle class, cutting taxes and lowering costs for working families and small businesses, and creating opportunities for all Americans to get ahead. On the economy, the choice could not be any more clear this November.”
You can watch our full interview with the former president in the video player above, or right below:
If you have a question about politics, elections or government, you can Ask Steve via the link on our website. He will endeavor to answer your questions on air or online.