Trump’s Iran remarks about Los Angeles and San Diego draw rebukes

President Donald Trump suggested at a campaign rally in Nebraska that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego, drawing applause from the crowd and swift condemnation from California’s governor and the mayors of both cities.

“It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe,” Trump said. “They can take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego.”

The remarks came Monday night in Grand Island as Trump spoke about the war with Iran and urged supporters to vote in November’s midterm elections, according to The Guardian. He said he hoped for a “tremendous victory” and, referring to the war, added: “It’ll be over very soon.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom responded on X: “After sending the National Guard and Marines to occupy California, Donald Trump is now saying our foreign enemies should ‘take out’ Los Angeles and San Diego. He is deranged and dangerous.”

Newsom’s press office said the president was “advocating for an attack on 10+ million U.S. residents in two of America’s largest cities,” The Guardian reported. “This is not normal,” the office said.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called Trump’s comments “irresponsible threats” that “could potentially compromise” the city’s safety, according to The Guardian. “The role of a president is to protect the country, not to actively threaten it and encourage attacks on American lives,” she said.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria rejected the suggestion that his city could be treated as a cost of the conflict. “San Diego is not collateral damage,” he wrote on X. “We are not expendable. And we are never a ‘small price to pay.’ Keep our city out of your reckless war talk.”

The two cities are among the nation’s largest and have significant military and aerospace facilities. Los Angeles, the second-most populous U.S. city, is home to the Space Force’s Space Systems Command headquarters, aerospace contractors including Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman, and research centers including the RAND Corporation, CBS News reported. San Diego, the eighth-largest city, has major military installations in and around it, including Naval Base San Diego, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, CBS News reported.

Trump’s meaning was disputed online, The Guardian reported. Some conservative activists argued that his “small price to pay” comment referred to high gasoline prices linked to the war, rather than to an attack on a U.S. city. The White House did not immediately respond to the outlet’s request for comment.

U.S. defense officials have previously said Iran lacks the capability to launch a direct missile attack on the U.S. mainland, according to The Guardian. Trump has previously argued that an Iranian nuclear weapon would threaten American cities and claimed in his last State of the Union address that Iran was developing missiles that would “soon” reach U.S. soil.

Xavier Becerra, a Democratic candidate for California governor, also criticized the remarks. “Thirteen million Californians call LA and San Diego counties home,” he said, according to The Guardian. “Their lives are not a ‘small price to pay’ or a punchline for Donald Trump.”