Nevada Independent: Why ‘I’m Joe Lombardo’ Traffic Stop Went Viral

It’s been one week since Joe Lombardo was caught name dropping his way out of a ticket, sparking coverage everywhere from Associated Press to TMZ. As the governor abused his position of power to get out of the ticket, red light violations can cost more than two days of pay for the average earner all while Lombardo and Trump’s agenda continue to jack up Nevadans’ costs.  

Instead of taking accountability for breaking the law, Lombardo’s campaign is out with another out-of-touch response claiming it’s “pathetic that this is news” — despite the fact that over 600 news outlets covered the viral video and even Republicans said that Lombardo should be “ashamed” of his evasion of the law.

Nevada Independent: Four reasons why ‘I’m Joe Lombardo’ traffic stop went viral

• Google searches for “Joe Lombardo” skyrocketed last week — though not for a reason the governor wanted.
  
• Readers were fired up about the Associated Press’ report on a May traffic stop in which the governor quickly explained to the officer who pulled him over, “I’m Joe Lombardo.” As the officer said he appeared to commit a red light violation while turning right, the governor replied, “Come on, man.” He was allowed to pull away without a ticket.
  
• ​​Individual posts featuring the stop racked up as many as 1.3 million views on X and at least hundreds of thousands more across Instagram and TikTok.
  
• Nevada Democrats gleefully noted that even some on the right criticized the governor’s behavior. His Democratic opponent Aaron Ford seized on the news, taking advantage of a promotion at the Beverly Theater — owned by a Democratic donor — promising free tickets for anyone who identified as Joe Lombardo.
  
• “First time Joe Lombardo has ever lowered prices for anybody,” Ford quipped.
  
• It stoked an emotion that’s especially resonant this year: anger at the political elite, who live comfortably while middle- and working class Americans fall further and further behind.
  
• “Had he just let the officer do his job, maybe the officer would have used his discretion and let him go without a citation,” said Nevada Democratic strategist Mindy Pressman, who is not affiliated with Ford’s campaign.
  
• “While there’s nothing wrong with the governor going without a ticket, his obvious attitude of entitlement reflects poorly on him,” wrote one New York Times commenter.
  
• The incident also dovetails with Democrats’ relentless focus on affordability. In Nevada, red light violations can cost more than two days of pay for the average earner.
  
• “It just shows that there are different rules for powerful people,” Pressman said.

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