Trump Lands in Vegas for Speech at Circa Casino Resort

^{Air Force One landed Friday in Las Vegas, where newly inaugurated President Donald Trump was met by Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo and Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald. (Image: courtesy of Harry Reid International Airport / Twitter)}

US President Donald Trump concluded his first day of travel in his second term, landing Friday evening in Las Vegas ahead of a scheduled rally on Saturday at Circa Resort and Casino.

Presidential Trip Up the Strip

Air Force One landed shortly after 7:30 pm at Harry Reid International Airport.  

From there, the Strip was shut down in both directions to make way for a presidential motorcade to transport Trump from the airport to Trump International Hotel. 

There were audible cheers as the bulletproof Cadillac known as “the Beast” made its way up Las Vegas Boulevard. Others on social media noted that some traffic from the airport through the resort corridor ground to a virtual halt for nearly an hour.

Las Vegas was Trump’s third stop on Friday, with Air Force One taking him first to Asheville, North Carolina, to see how the area is recovering from Hurricane Helene, and then to Santa Monica, California, where the area is still reeling in the immediate aftermath of not-yet-fully-contained wildfires.

This is Trump’s first visit to Nevada since winning reelection in November.

Speaking at Circa About Tips, Taxes and Flipping Nevada

Trump is scheduled to speak on Saturday at Circa Resort and Casino at 12:30 pm in the Galaxy meeting room, a 15,000 square-foot space with theater-style setting for nearly 1,500 people. Doors open at 9:30 am.  

The session is being billed as a Nevada GOP victory rally, where Trump will thank Nevada Republicans for helping him flip the state. 

Nevada was a lean-Blue swing state heading into the November election, having voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020, and re-elected Democratic senator Jackie Rosen in 2024. 

While campaigning in Nevada in June, Trump introduced the idea of “no taxes on tips” as a campaign promise to a crowd of thousands gathered at Las Vegas’s Sunset Park.

His opponent in the election, former Vice President Kamala Harris, came out in support of a similar plan. 

In response to Trump’s proposal to eliminate tax-reporting requirements for tipped workers, Dick Cooper, communications director for US Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada), told Casinos.com that the Las Vegas congresswoman could potentially support the idea.

“Exempting tips from federal taxes would require an act of Congress,” Cooper said in a June email exchange. “The President cannot do this on his own. If such legislation came before the House, the congresswoman would consider it.”