Yesterday, Attorney General Aaron Ford was joined by Retail Association of Nevada President Bryan Wachter to highlight how the Lombardo-Trump economy is crushing small businesses like Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant, a local restaurant on the brink of closing its doors because of Trump’s illegal tariffs that Joe Lombardo supported. 

Since defeating Trump’s initial tariffs in court, Attorney General Ford is now suing the Trump administration again over its unlawful cost-raising tariffs. In contrast, Joe Lombardo believes Nevadans need to “feel a little pain” from Trump’s tariffs and despite the fact that families paid an extra $1,744 on everyday essentials last year, Lombardo said he doesn’t think they deserve a refund.. 

Nevada businesses have been forced to pay nearly $970 million due to illegal tariffs, pushing retail prices 4.8% higher for the average American. Nevada businesses are also getting hit by the decline in tourism: Las Vegas received 7.5% fewer visitors in 2025, 3.2 million fewer visitors than 2024. 

See more below:

Associated Press: Democrats aim to turn Trump’s tariffs against GOP in campaigns for governor

• In Nevada, state Attorney General Aaron Ford sued the administration over its initial round of tariffs and is suing again as Trump seeks to revive them. 

• “Tariffs are at the very top of the conversation because Nevadans every single day are feeling the impacts,” Ford said.

• Lombardo’s response to a question about tariffs last year in a local television interview has given Democrats persistent fodder. The governor said, “We need to maybe feel a little pain in the short term and hopefully in the long term it’s a huge benefit for us.”

• “We’re feeling it,” Ford said of the pain, “and Nevadans are ready for new leadership.”

Nevada Current: Las Vegas restaurant owner has some bones to pick with Trump

• Tereda appeared alongside Retail Association of Nevada President Bryan Wachter at a campaign event for Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford, who is now running for governor.

• “When tariffs drive up prices, small business owners are forced into impossible choices,” said Wachter. “Raising prices and losing customers, or absorb the cost and watch their already small margins evaporate. 

• Small businesses are often the first to make sacrifices and bear the burden of rising costs, and yet they are frequently last to be considered when policy is made.”

• Wachter said RAN is calling on the Trump administration to refund the billions in tariffs to the businesses that paid them.

KTNV: Ford slams Lombardo over Trump tariffs

• Those tariffs have driven up costs, driven away tourists and generally depressed business, according to the owner of Lucy Ethiopian restaurant, who says he may have to close his doors.

• "The reason we moved from another country — I'm originally from Ethiopia — this was a better place to be, land of opportunities," he said. "That's what we want to feel. So there's a lot of opportunities, but now it's kind of a struggle. That's more stress. I don't want America to be the land of stress and struggle. I want the way it was, land of opportunity for everybody."

• Ford charged that Tereda's plight is lost on Republicans, who have generally supported Trump's tariffs. That includes Lombardo, who said at an event hosted by the Nevada Independent this month that tariffs will bring industries and jobs back to America in the long term.