By james art 
Jan. 25 (UPI) — President Donald Trump thanked his Nevada supporters for their votes in the November election and announced his push to eliminate tip taxes during a visit to Las Vegas on Saturday.
Trump took the stage at the Las Vegas casino after opening remarks by Las Vegas celebrity Rick Harrison and Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald, praising his supporters for the crucial role they played in delivering the state’s electoral votes.
“I just came here because I wanted to thank the people of Nevada for giving us such a big win,” he said.
The November election marks the first time a Republican candidate has won the state in 20 years. He took the state with 50.6% of the vote compared to Kamala Harris’ 47.5%.
The president also announced his campaign promise to eliminate the skewed income tax, a proposal he first unveiled in June in Nevada, a state that has 350,000 working-class hospitality workers, many of them immigrants.
The proposal emerged to gain support among the United Casino Workers, whose leadership has thrown its support behind Harris. The Democratic nominee later responded with his own pledge to eliminate the tax.
“In the coming weeks, I will work with Congress to get a bill on my desk that cuts taxes for workers, families, small businesses and, very importantly, keeps my promise of something called ‘no tip tax.'” Trump said on applause.
“So if you’re a restaurant worker, a server, a waiter … any other worker who relies on tipped income, your tips will be 100 percent yours,” he added.
His visit to Las Vegas came at the end of a whirlwind tour of disasters in North Carolina, which was hit by flooding after Hurricane Helen ravaged last October, and Los Angeles, where wildfires have killed at least 28 people, burned 55,000 acres and destroyed 16,188 structures.
Trump indicated he would visit Nevada as he toured wildfire sites in Los Angeles on Friday.
Las Vegas casino owners are among some of Trump’s biggest financial supporters. His biggest donor in 2024 is Miriam Adelson, wife of the late Sheldon Adelson, founder of the Las Vegas Sands Casino Empire. Adelson had a front-row seat to Trump’s inauguration this week, sitting directly behind former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Casino.org reported.
Circus owner Phil Ruffin also attended the ceremony.
Among those attending Saturday’s event was Stuart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keeper militia, whose long sentence stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol uprising was commuted by Trump this week, CNN reported.
Rhodes, who was serving an 18-year sentence for conspiracy, was seen entering the event hours before Trump’s scheduled remarks, the broadcaster said.
He and other members of the Oath Keepers on Friday were ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta to stay away from Washington or the grounds of the U.S. Capitol without first obtaining court permission.