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Trumpy Governor Busted Attempting Flex in Traffic Stop

The MAGA governor tried to skirt accountability by exercising his executive authority.

A MAGA governor has gotten off scot-free after flexing his position during a traffic stop.

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump in his current bid for re-election, was captured on police bodycam footage name-dropping himself to seemingly try to get himself out of a red light violation, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Newly released body camera footage shows Lombardo, 63, being pulled over in his pickup truck by an officer near the Mandalay Bay casino in May.

As the officer greets the governor and his wife and begins to explain the observed infraction, Lombardo, who was once the sheriff in Las Vegas, wastes no time in attempting to weasel his way out of a ticket.

“I’m Joe Lombardo,” he says, interrupting the officer.

“I’m aware,” the officer replies. “For the red light violation back there—your right turn onto Giles..."

“C’mon, man,” Lombardo pleads next.

“You are good to go, sir. Appreciate you. Have a good day,” the officer responds before heading back to his car.

Reached for comment, the governor’s office referred the Daily Beast to his re-election campaign. Neither Lombardo’s campaign nor the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department immediately returned the Daily Beast’s request for comment.

The governor’s campaign shared a statement on Tuesday addressing the traffic stop, saying that Lombardo and his wife were on their way to Harry Reid International Airport.

“Two months ago, Governor Lombardo and his wife were briefly pulled over on their way to the airport by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department over a question about whether Governor Lombardo had come to a complete stop while turning,” the statement read.

Lombardo’s campaign said that the governor “fully complied with all instructions” and that he had not attempted to sway favor with the officer by introducing himself.

“As the officer approached the vehicle, he introduced himself to Governor Lombardo, who responded in kind by simply saying ‘Joe Lombardo,’ as a matter of courtesy,” the campaign explained in an email, according to the Review-Journal. “At no point did the Governor invoke his office and seek—or expect—preferential treatment."

Steve Grammas, president of the union representing Las Vegas Metro officers, told the Review-Journal the incident was “an absolutely nothing car stop.”

“Thousands of those happen every month,” he told the outlet. “We don’t write everybody a ticket.”

“The officer pulled him over,” Grammas continued. “Immediately knows it is the governor, immediately doesn’t need to identify him because he knows who he is, knows he probably doesn’t have a suspended driver’s license, and that advised him why he pulled him over and told him to take care. If he wasn’t the governor, no one would care about the hundreds of other stops that are done the same way.”

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Vic VerbalaitisNight Breaking News Reporter

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