Trump says Iran can ‘take out' Los Angeles, San Diego as ‘small price to pay for keeping the world safe'
California Governor Gavin Newsom accused Trump of suggesting that a foreign adversary should attack American cities
Published October 06, 2026
US President Donald Trump has sparked backlash after telling supporters that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles or San Diego while he defended the costs Americans are facing from the war.
Trump made the remarks Monday night during a campaign rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, where he was arguing that higher prices linked to the conflict were worth paying to keep the United States and the wider world safe.
Then he brought up two American cities. “They could take out a city,” Trump said, adding, “Let ’em take out Los Angeles, let ’em take out San Diego.”
He described it as a “very small price to pay” and told the crowd that the war would be over soon.
The remarks drew cheers from some people at the rally and an angry response hundreds of miles away in California.
California Governor Gavin Newsom accused Trump of suggesting that a foreign adversary should attack American cities.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also hit back, saying a president's responsibility is to protect Americans, while San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said his city was “not collateral damage.”
The criticism was not limited to Democrats. Jim Desmond, a Republican congressional candidate and Navy veteran from the San Diego area, said he disagreed with Trump and that no American city should be treated as expendable.
The White House rejected the interpretation that the president was calling for Iran to attack California. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said Trump was making the opposite argument: that the war was necessary to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran from ever gaining the ability to attack an American city.
“The media freakout over President Trump's comments is not rooted in reality,” Cheung said, adding that US cities would have been at risk if Iran had been allowed to develop nuclear weapons.
There is also no public evidence that Iran currently has the ability to launch a ballistic missile from its territory and strike Los Angeles or San Diego.
