The Nevada GOP rallied around President Donald Trump’s policies as he touted a no tax on tips proposal in front of 2,000 Nevadans on Aug. 5 at the Red Rock Casino.
But the rally was about more than tax policies — Trump also praised his endorsed candidates, and urged voters to pass Question 7, a voter ID measure that would amend the Nevada Constitution to impose stricter voting laws.
Trump called billionaires “incredible people,” and singled out the Fertitta brothers on several occasions. Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, who own Station Casinos, are among Gov. Joe Lombardo’s top donors. The governor defended “Trump’s billionaire friends.”
“Quite often, when the press and the media runs him down, they think about, ‘He’s taking care of his billionaire friends,’” Lombardo said. “But those billionaire friends provide jobs. And unless you take care of them, those jobs are absent.”
But are those billionaires providing jobs? We fact checked Trump’s and Lombardo’s claims, so you don’t have to.
Do billionaires support the working class?
Amazon, owned by Jeff Bezos, has been the top private employer in Nevada for six consecutive years in employees who rely on Medicaid. The state, however, filtered out employees who don’t work at least 30 hours per week.
While the state saw a reduction in recipients, the average cost per employee increased by nearly 17%.
The Fertitta brothers have also been dubbed the “worst law breakers” in labor law history by the Culinary Union, the largest labor union in Southern Nevada.
Station Casinos management put thousands of employees on MUD lists, labeling workers as management (M), union (U), or don’t know (D). After the pandemic, the National Labor Relations Board general counsel alleged the company used COVID-19 to tamper with union support by not rehiring members labeled as union, or cutting their hours, which forced members to lose health benefits.
‘Tariffs have made us rich’
Trump touted tariffs several times as a successful tax policy, despite The Supreme Court striking down the effort and deeming them unlawful on two separate occasions. As a result, the Trump administration refunded $100 billion in tariff revenue.
The refunds went to corporations — not consumers — as Apple received an estimated $2.2 billion in refunds, and Amazon reported $600 million in their refund. Similarly, Nike earned $300 million in refunds, and tariff refunds boosted Nintendo’s profit by 53%.
It’s estimated that households spent an estimated $1,000 last year due to tariffs alone, according to the Tax Foundation.
‘Those vetoes protected Nevada’
Lombardo said he wears his veto record as a “badge of honor.” During the 2023 legislative session, he broke the record for the most vetoes in a single session. In 2025, he topped the record with 87 vetoes.
“When a piece of legislation would reach my desk, and it was taking Nevada in the wrong direction, it was only appropriate to veto that legislation,” the governor said.
Policies Lombardo claimed were “taking Nevada in the wrong direction” include:
- Capping insulin at $35
- Extended free school meals for students
- Mandated nurse-to-patient ratios
- College fee waivers for unhoused youth
- Expanded paid family leave
Lombardo defended the vetoes, contending “the core reasons those vetoes were imposed were higher costs, more government mandates, and more California style policies on our state. Those vetoes protected Nevada families, business and taxpayers.”
The Republican governor will compete in November against Attorney General Aaron Ford in November, who’s often criticized the measures Lombardo vetoed.
