Trump jokes about heat at Las Vegas rally; 6 people hospitalized after attending
Six people were hospitalized for heat-related illnesses after attending a Donald Trump rally in Las Vegas Sunday in sweltering 104-degree temperatures, according to officials.
The former president commented on the heat during his remarks, which were largely off-script due to teleprompter issues, and stoked online controversy for saying he didn't care about the attendees and just wanted their vote.
"By the way, isn't that breeze nice? Do you feel the breeze?" he said in a recording from C-SPAN. "Cuz I don't want anybody going on me. We need every voter. I don't care about you, I just want your vote, I don't care."
On Thursday, 11 people attending a Trump rally in Phoenix, Arizona were hospitalized due to extreme heat.
Here is what else happened at Trump's rally in Las Vegas and why he's campaigning in Nevada:
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Trump teased ending taxes on tips
Trump unveiled a new proposal he said he’d never mentioned publicly before that would be among his priorities — ending taxes on tips, a likely winner in Nevada, whose casino and entertainment economy depends on tips.
The pledge on tips adds one more detail to a Trump tax plan that has included vague pledges of tax relief to middle-income workers and small businesses.
"So this is the first time I've said this, and for those hotel workers and people that get tips you're going to be very happy because when I get to office, we are going to not charge taxes on tips people (are) making," Trump told a crowd of approximately 6,900 people.
Trump said he would "do that right away, first thing in office," and noted in prepared remarks that he would seek legislation in Congress to make the change. "You do a great job of service, you take care of people and I think it's going to be something that really is deserved."
He has previously pledged to make permanent the Republican-passed individual tax cuts that he signed into law in 2017, but which expire at the end of 2025. Tax experts estimate that doing so would raise U.S. deficits by some $4 trillion over a decade compared to current forecasts.
Trump threatens to withhold pay from teleprompter company
Constant problems with his teleprompter were reported, and he vowed not to pay the company behind it.
"I don’t pay contractors who do (expletive) work," Trump said.
The lack of prepared remarks allowed for a looser speech where he often engaged in crowd participation, asking who should be his vice presidential running mate (no consensus) and whether "Sleepy Joe" or "Crooked Joe" was a better nickname for Biden.
One tangent involved whether he’d prefer to be eaten by a shark or electrocuted.
“I'll take electrocution every single time,” Trump said.
Trump lost Nevada in presidential elections twice
Nevada is hosting a primary election Tuesday, and voters will choose a Republican opponent to Democratic first-term incumbent Sen. Jacky Rosen. While Trump did not make any endorsement at the rally, he took to Truth Social Sunday to back Veteran Sam Brown in the Republican primary.
Nevada is considered a battleground state, but its voters sided with Trump's opponents in both previous elections.
In 2016, Hillary Clinton beat Trump by less than 30,000 votes, approximately 2.5 percentage points.
In 2020, President Joe Biden won 50.1% of the vote, compared to Trump's 47.7% win, a difference of approximately 33,600 votes.
Mark Robison is the state politics reporter for the Reno Gazette-Journal, with occasional forays into other topics. Email comments to mrobison@rgj.com or comment on Mark’s Greater Reno Facebook page.
Contributing: Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump criticized for 'I don't care about you' line at hot Vegas rally
