Trump Drove Them Away...

“We’re the only major country in the world losing visitation,” the head of the U.S. Travel Association said, calling it “mind-boggling.” Las Vegas airport passenger traffic dropped 9.2 percent in August alone, diesel in Nevada is approaching $7 a gallon, and the United States is on track to lose nearly 2 million international visitors year over year. The MeidasTouch Podcast attributes this directly to the Trump administration’s tariffs, its attacks on allies like Canada and Europe, and what it calls a “Gestapo” approach from ICE and Border Patrol—deterring tourists who are “scared” and “broke.”

The episode centers on Nevada as a case study of that damage, and on the state’s governor, Joe Lombardo, whom the hosts accuse of enabling the disaster while refusing to defend his record. Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, who is running against Lombardo for governor, joins the show to explain why he believes Lombardo is afraid to debate him—and why he thinks the governor’s policies amount to a betrayal of the state.

Lombardo’s record and the “pain” comment