Trump Courts Swing State with Promise to Abolish Tip Tax

Donald Trump is courting votes in the tourist city of Las Vegas by promising to abolish the taxation of tips for workers in the service sector. “This is the first time I’m saying this, and it will be a great joy for hotel employees and people who receive tips because, when I’m in office, we will not tax tips,” the Republican presidential candidate said at a campaign event in Nevada on Sunday.

The state is considered one of the key battlegrounds for the upcoming presidential election in November. Both US President Joe Biden and Trump have strong chances of winning in this “swing state.”

Trump has already pledged to make permanent the tax cuts passed by Republicans in 2017, which are set to expire at the end of 2025. Tax experts estimate that this move would increase the US deficit by around four trillion dollars over ten years compared to current projections.

Nevada is one of six or seven swing states expected to decide the outcome of the election. According to a recent Fox News poll conducted after Trump’s conviction in the hush money case, Trump leads Biden in Nevada by five percentage points.

Biden’s Contrasting Agenda in France

In contrast, Biden concluded a five-day visit to France by visiting an American military cemetery outside Paris. The 81-year-old, along with his wife Jill, participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Aisne-Marne Cemetery northeast of the French capital on Sunday, honoring American soldiers who died in World War I.

In 2018, during a trip to France, Trump’s predecessor had canceled a visit to the same cemetery last minute citing “bad weather,” which drew heavy criticism for being disrespectful to veterans.

Biden’s symbolic visit served as a stark contrast to Trump, continuing the theme of his previous stops on the trip. When asked why he chose to visit this particular cemetery, Biden stated that it was unthinkable to attend D-Day commemorations in Normandy without also paying respect to the fallen US soldiers buried here.

Throughout his foreign trip during this election year, Biden has emphasized a contrasting agenda to Trump, presenting himself as the antithesis to the Republican amid Trump’s potential return to the White House.