LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Attorney General Aaron Ford on Thursday slammed incumbent Gov. Joe Lombardo, linking the governor to tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
Those tariffs have driven up costs, driven away tourists and generally depressed business, according to the owner of Lucy Ethipoian restaurant, who says he may have to close his doors.
WATCH | Ford slams Lombardo over Trump tariffs
Woldu Tereda, who has operated Lucy since 2015, said Thursday that he's seen higher prices for food he serves in his restaurant at Flamingo Road and Decatur Boulevard in the Little Ethiopia area of Las Vegas.
Passing on the costs means higher prices, and that means fewer customers, said Tereda, who came to the United States 25 years ago.
"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.
"I think he [Lombardo] needs to be concerned about what's happening right now to Nevada families. We are suffering an affordability crisis that has been bolstered by his efforts and his lack of efforts," Ford said. "And I would suggest that the governor focus on what Nevada needs today, as opposed to kowtowing to, and kissing up to, Donald Trump."
In response, Lombardo for governor spokeswoman Halee Dobbins criticized Ford for his travel record.
"While Ford spent 137 days out of state on special interest vacations, Governor Lombardo has been doing the real work right here in Nevada, fighting for affordability, vetoing partisan tax increases, bringing new jobs to Nevada and lowering housing costs for families," she said.
Ironically, Ford criticized Lombardo for vetoing a bill that would have banned corporate purchases of homes, which Democrats say crowds out individual buyers, as well as bills to lower prescription drug costs and provide free school meals to all students in Nevada's K-12 public schools. (Lombardo argues that food was wasted and that all school kids eligible for a free meal already get one.)
Trump himself later embraced the ban on corporate home purchases, issuing an executive order on the topic.
