Trump Highlights Nevada at the RNC Convention, Shines Spotlight on Sam Brown For US Senate

Last night, former President Donald Trump spoke for over 90 minutes, delivering his presidential nomination acceptance speech at the RNC National Convention in Milwaukee, WI. It was the first time the president publicly addressed the American people since the attempt on his life at his campaign rally last Saturday in Butler, PA. President Trump solemnly stated, “I am not supposed to be here.”

In a transition to foreign policy, Trump blasted the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan as “the worst humiliation in the history of our country.” Referring to the wounded U.S. Service members who fought and were injured in America’s longest war, Trump highlighted Nevada’s GOP Senate candidate Captain Sam Brown and labeled Brown’s  Democratic opponent Senator Jacky Rosen as “a total lightweight.”

I am deeply honored to have served our great nation in Afghanistan, and now I am equally proud to stand alongside President Trump as the next Senator of Nevada. Thank you, President Trump, for your unwavering confidence in me. Together, we will reignite the spirit of the American… pic.twitter.com/GqrOnhjlCw

— Sam Brown (@CaptainSamBrown) July 19, 2024

The transcript is as follows:

It began to unravel with the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, the worst humiliation in the history of our country. We have never had a humiliation like that. Thirteen heroic U.S. service members were tragically and needlessly killed. Forty-five others were horrifically wounded. Nobody ever talks about that. No arms, no legs, face explosions. Horrifically, horrifically wounded. And by the way, we have a man in this room who is running for the U.S. Senate from a great state, Nevada, named Sam Brown, who paid the ultimate price. Thank you, Sam. Thank you, Sam. Thank you. He paid the biggest price probably ever paid by anybody that is running for office, and I think he is going to do great. He’s running against a person that is not good, not respected. A total lightweight.

But Sam, I think, paid really —

We were talking about it with some of the senators that are working so hard for Sam. But he paid the biggest price of any senator ever to run for the Senate. I don’t think anybody has ever, what he did. He’s a real hero, a really great person. And he’s running and I hope that everybody gets out and votes for Sam Brown.

Although Brown trails in the polls and fundraising, Rosen has voted with Biden over 90 percent of the time, flexing her bipartisanship as the embattled president is facing calls from his Democratic colleagues and donors to abandon his reelection campaign. Trump’s mention is sure to drive additional exposure and donations to Brown’s campaign, as well as Rosen’s.

Rosen replied to Trump’s comments on X as “petty insults” and “attacks” and urged supporters to be by her side.

Donald Trump just used his RNC speech to single out my race & personally attack me. He's telling voters I'm "not respected" & "a total lightweight."

I'm not afraid of petty insults but it's clear the GOP is all in on Nevada — the attacks are pouring in & I need you by my side.

— Jacky Rosen (@RosenforNevada) July 19, 2024

Earlier in the speech, Trump underscored the centerpiece of his campaign as “massive tax cuts for workers,” noting that Nevada was the epicenter of his proposed policy, “No Tax On Tips,” a campaign promise made by Trump during a June campaign rally in Las Vegas. Following his announcement, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) sponsored the legislation.

In response, Rosen’s campaign referred to Trump’s proposal as a “distraction,” and the democratically-aligned Culinary Union charged that the proposal was a “Campaign Hail Mary.”  Yet, a month later, as the polls showed the political winds shifting towards Trump’s favor, Rosen flipped and announced supported the proposal, earning sudden praise and support from the Culinary Union.

Trump revealed that his “No Tax On Tips” proposal came from a “very smart waitress” at “a beautiful restaurant in the Trump building on the Strip:”

At the center of our plan for economic relief are massive tax cuts for workers that include something else that stood out to be very popular actually. Here it’s very popular. In this building and all those hotels that are so nice, I’m staying in a nice one. It’s called no tax on tips. No tax on tips. No tax on tips.

And I got that by having dinner recently in Nevada where we’re leading by about 14 points.

Hello. I’ll see you there very soon, everybody.

And we were having dinner at a beautiful restaurant in the Trump building on the Strip. And it’s a great building and the waitress comes over.

“How’s everything going?”

Really nice person.

“How’s everything going?”

“Oh sir, it’s so tough. The government is after me all the time on tips, tips, tips.”

I said, “Well, they give you cash, would they be able to find them?”

And she said, “Actually,” and I didn’t know this, very little cash is given. It’s all put right on the check. And they come in and they take so much of our money it’s just ridiculous. And they don’t believe anything we say. They’ve just hired, as you know, 88,000 agents to go after them even more.

But I said to her, “Let me just ask you a question. Would you be happy if you had no tax on tips?”

She said, “What a great idea.”

I got my information from a very smart waitress.

Trump has maintained a healthy lead over President Biden in the Silver State for consecutive months. A July 18 poll by FiveThirtyEight shows Trump with 5.5 percent lead. Emerson polling reports Trump ahead by five points, and an Insider Advantage poll taken during the same time frame (July 15-16) shows Trump up by 7 points. Another poll by Insider Advantage shows Trump leading Harris by 10 points.

In 2020, Trump lost the state of Nevada by 2.4 percent, but taxing inflation and economic concerns have negatively impacted Biden’s support with the Hispanic American community in battleground states.

According to recent NY Times/Sienna polling data, Biden’s approval rating has cratered among Hispanic voters. 63 percent of Hispanic Americans believe the country is on the wrong track and over 60 percent disapprove of Biden’s leadership.

In 2020, Biden won 63 percent of the Hispanic American vote. Past exit polls show that Latino support for the Democratic presidential nominee has fallen below 60 percent only twice in the past half century: 59 percent in 1980 and 53 percent in 2004.

This week, Biden cancelled his appearance in front of Latino activists at the Unidos US annual conference in Las Vegas due to a COVID-19 diagnosis. Unidos US bills itself as “the largest Latino civil rights organization in the United States.”

At the conference, Biden was expected to announce a new executive order that would allow certain U.S. citizens’ spouses without legal status to begin applying for permanent residency and eventual citizenship without having to first depart the country. The new program is expected to begin August 19 and could affect 500,000 illegal immigrants in the U.S.