President Donald Trump suggested Monday that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego, drawing condemnation from California leaders and a defense from the White House.
Trump made the remarks at a campaign rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, where he was promoting Sen. Pete Ricketts and Gov. Jim Pillen ahead of the November midterm elections. Defending the war with Iran and its effect on prices, Trump called the costs “a small price to pay for keeping the world safe.”
“They can take out a city,” Trump said. “Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego.” The line drew cheers from the crowd. He added that the war would be over soon.
The comments came days after Trump argued that his initial four-to-six-week timeline referred only to eliminating Iran’s nuclear threat, not ending the war. Los Angeles is the second-most populous city in the country, and San Diego is home to Naval Base San Diego, the principal homeport of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, according to ABC News.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said on X that Trump was saying U.S. cities “would have been threatened” if a nuclear Iran had not been stopped. “America is safer because of the President,” Cheung said. An administration account on X separately said Trump meant the U.S. was fighting to stop Iran from gaining the ability to strike the two cities. Cheung also dismissed the reaction as a “media freakout.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, called Trump “deranged and dangerous” in a post on X and accused him of encouraging an attack on the two cities. Newsom pointed to Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and Marines to California, which he described as an occupation. In a second post, he called the remarks “disgusting and disqualifying,” ABC News reported.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Trump’s statements were “dangerous and could potentially compromise our safety.” Bass wrote on X that a president’s role is to protect the country, not threaten it.
“San Diego is not collateral damage,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, a Democrat, said in a post on X. “We are not expendable.” Gloria told Trump to keep the city out of his “reckless war talk.”
Criticism also came from a Republican. Jim Desmond, a candidate for Congress in California’s 48th Congressional District, said he “vehemently” disagreed with Trump. He said a commander in chief’s first responsibility is to protect Americans at home.
It was unclear whether Trump was actually suggesting that Iran carry out an attack, but his comments do not establish that Iran currently has the ability to strike either city, and that the administration has not publicly indicated a confirmed threat to Los Angeles or San Diego.
Discover more from Daily Planet
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
