California leaders condemned President Trump on Monday night after he appeared to suggest that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego, two Democratic led cities, as part of the ongoing war between the U.S. and Iran.
Speaking at a Republican political rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, the president called the war’s economic impact “a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe.” He then went further.
“They can take out a city,” he said. “Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay.”
The crowd applauded and cheered as he said it. It remains unclear whether Trump was imagining a hypothetical scenario or actively suggesting the cities should be targeted.
Who responded, and how
Governor Gavin Newsom was the fastest and sharpest. “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,” Newsom wrote on X. “He is deranged and dangerous.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also responded directly on X. “The President of the United States suggested that a foreign government attack Los Angeles,” she wrote. “His statements against our city are dangerous and could potentially compromise our safety. The role of a president is to protect the country, not to actively threaten it.”
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, whose city Trump also named, pushed back just as forcefully. “San Diego is not collateral damage,” Gloria said. “We are not expendable. And we are never a ‘small price to pay.’ Keep our city out of your reckless war talk.”
Reaction extended beyond elected officials. Commentator Jim Acosta and others amplified clips of the moment, with Acosta noting that at least 19 U.S. service members have died in the Iran conflict, including one from Nebraska, the same state where Trump made the remarks.
CNN reported it had reached out to the White House for clarification on what Trump meant, and had not received a response as of publication.
Why he was in Nebraska, and what this has to do with the midterms
Trump wasn’t in Nebraska by accident. He was campaigning for Senator Pete Ricketts, a Republican locked in an unexpectedly close race against independent candidate Dan Osborn, with the midterm elections just weeks away. Trump told the crowd he wanted “a tremendous victory because it verifies all the things we did,” tying his appearance directly to the broader midterm fight, in a state far from the two cities he singled out.
That detail matters for how this story connects to the elections. Trump has frequently criticized California and its Democratic leadership over immigration enforcement, state elections, and the state’s response to wildfires. Raising Los Angeles and San Diego by name, in a battleground Senate race rally, reads less like an isolated remark and more like continued campaign messaging aimed at Democratic run cities, even if the specific framing, inviting a foreign adversary to attack them, went further than his usual criticism.
