Trump touts tax tips policy in Vegas, says Iran war is going 'swimmingly'
President Trump used a rare visit to Las Vegas to tout his no tax on tips policy, and also gave promising predictions on the Iran war.
James PowelLAS VEGAS — Away from the glitz of the strip and touting his "No Tax on Tips" policy, President Donald Trump claimed April 16 that the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran is going "swimmingly" and won't last much longer.
"It should be ending pretty soon," Trump said.
The roundtable discussion and mini-rally came one day after the tax filing deadline, and as delivery drivers, who often subsist on tips, face increasing gas prices in the wake of the energy disruption that followed the start of the war. AAA estimates the national average for a gallon of gas is just over $4.
In Nevada, the price is nearly $5 a gallon.
The president said in a ballroom speech at the AC Hotel Las Vegas Symphony Park that sometimes his words can send markets into turmoil.
"When I speak, the market gets a little jittery. I say Scott, go out there, clean it up for me," Trump said, referring to Scott Bessent, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.
He also called a recent event where a DoorDash driver delivered McDonald's to the White House "a little tacky."
John Facey, a Trump supporter who attended the event, told USA TODAY that gas prices were a worthwhile "short-term sacrifice" for weakening Iran but that he did not approve of an extended period of conflict resulting in higher prices at the pump.
"Anything longer than six months, I don't know that I agree with that," Facey said.
Trump on the news media: 'They come from dark places'
The president is underwater in one of the key swing states that brought him back to the White House. Fifty-one percent of Nevadans disapprove of Trump, according to the most recent Morning Consult survey of the state.
Republican Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo did not appear on the panel in Las Vegas, but the state's Republican Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony sat next to Trump.
The event occurred in a state with one of the highest populations of tipped workers in the nation, according to a 2024 report by the Tax Policy Center. The report estimated that more than 5% of Nevada's workforce has jobs that regularly receive tips, while the national average was about 2%.
The tax changes in the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill" allow tipped workers to deduct up to $25,000 from their tips and up to $12,500 ($25,000 in the case of a joint return) in overtime. Both have a $150,000 income limit ($300,000 filing jointly), and the provision sunsets in 2028.
Trump also used the speech to attack the news media, calling them "the enemy."
"They come from dark places," he said.
He also said that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is "chasing a lot of people out and causing a lot of harm to everybody" after the institution of a "pied a terre" tax in the president's former hometown.
Trump is set to appear at a Turning Point USA rally in Arizona on April 17.
Contributing: Chad Murphy, Katie Landeck, and Margie Cullen, USA TODAY Network