Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, released his plan to end the tipping tax during a trip to Las Vegas on Friday, trying to respond to a week in which Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has struggled to focus on the proposals rather than attacks on her opponent.
At a podium at a Mexican restaurant, the Republican presidential candidate talked about his plan to eliminate a 100 percent tax on tips for servers and other service-sector employees. He also spoke about his campaign’s efforts to win over Hispanic voters in Nevada, a key state that could help shape the Nov. 5 election.
The proposal is a cornerstone of the candidate’s economic agenda and the kind of issue his aides are pushing Trump to address, rather than dwelling on personal attacks on Kamala’s image, heritage and intelligence. The assessment is that such positions could remove the moderate votes Trump needs to win.
Trump's comments come a day after Kamala accepted the Democratic nomination in a powerful speech, in which she spoke about the proposals and her differences with Trump, 11 weeks before the election.
On the fourth day of the Democratic convention, Trump took to the airwaves across the country, trying to grab press attention and steal it from his opponent. Yet her speeches on foreign policy, the economy and crime failed to divert much of the focus from democracy and received little attention, a stunning turnaround for a politician who used to dominate headlines.
Trump and his allies hope the end of the convention will also mark the end of Kamala's “honeymoon,” who emerged as the Democratic nominee just over a month ago when incumbent President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.
During the Democratic speech in Chicago, Trump attacked Kamala in dozens of posts on her social network Truth Social, calling her a liar, a “Marxist,” and “comrade Kamala Harris.” In one post, he asked in all caps: “Are you talking about me?”
William Rosenberg, a political science professor at Drexel University, said Trump's personal attacks express his frustration at facing a mixed-race woman, which puts him in a delicate position because of his history of racist comments.
“His anger and his words speak volumes,” Rosenberg said. “He’s on a path full of trouble.”
One question that needs to be answered is whether Kamala will be able to outpace Trump in terms of campaigning pace in the coming weeks. Biden has promoted few events, easing pressure on the Republican to travel more around the country. That could change with a new opponent.
Trump will travel to Detroit on Monday evening to attend the National Guard Association conference. He will also speak at a conservative women’s event in Washington on Friday.
Trump will have at least one more stop to make between those two events, said campaign spokeswoman Carolyn Levitt, though she did not elaborate.
Kamala's campaign has not yet revealed its plans for next week.
