"He had high hopes putting a businessman in the White House and, although he found the president's monster ego grating, Mahan voted for his reelection. Mostly, he said, out of party loyalty. By 2024, however, he'd had enough. "I just saw more of the bad qualities, more of the ego," said Mahan, who's worked for decades as a food server on and off the Las Vegas Strip."
"Here's Mahan's reality: A big drop in pay. Depletion of his emergency savings. Stress every time he pulls into a gas station or visits the supermarket. Mahan used to blithely toss things in his grocery cart. "Now," he said, "you have to look at prices, because everything is more expensive." In short, he's living through the worst combination of inflation and economic malaise he's experienced since he began waiting tables after finishing high school."
Aaron Mahan is a lifelong Republican who twice voted for Donald Trump but by 2024 withheld his vote, describing himself as a "Trump realist." He had high hopes for a businessman president but grew frustrated with the president's ego and perceived legal motivations. Mahan works decades as a food server on and off the Las Vegas Strip. He experienced a large pay drop, depleted emergency savings, and heightened stress over rising gas and grocery prices. Las Vegas tourism has declined over the past 12 months; visitors have dropped and those who come are spending less. Passenger arrivals at Harry Reid International Airport and hotel room nights have fallen. Mahan, who works at the Virgin resort casino just off the Strip, blames the slowdown.
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