Four weeks out from the midterms, the president may have just handed his opponents a campaign ad…
Speaking at a rally in Grand Island, Nebraska on Monday night, Donald Trump appeared to suggest that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles or San Diego. He was defending the cost of the war, and he didn’t stumble into it.
Here’s what he said. Trump called the war with Iran a “small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe,” and then kept going. “They can take out a city,” he told the crowd. “Let ’em take out Los Angeles, let ’em take out San Diego,” adding that it would be over soon. Of course Gov. Gavin Newsom fired back on social media, calling the remarks “deranged and dangerous.”
Trump on Iran: Let ’em take out Los Angeles and San Diego, it’s a small price to pay https://t.co/Fc4BcjVDKj— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) October 6, 2026
He kept the receipts coming, pointing out that Trump had already sent the National Guard and Marines into the state and was now, in his words, saying foreign enemies should hit its biggest cities. Newsom also made it personal, noting that at least 19 servicemembers have died in what he called Trump’s unauthorized war with Iran, including Noah Tietjens of Nebraska, the very state where Trump was holding his rally.
The mayors weren’t playing either.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria added that his city “is not collateral damage” and “not expendable,” and told the president to keep it out of his “reckless war talk.” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass warned the comments could potentially compromise the city’s safety.
And the celebrity commentary didn’t hold back. Actress Carrie Coon asked whether folks could “take the keys away from Grandpa yet.” Los Angeles and San Diego are home to millions of working people, families, and communities of color who don’t get to sit behind the podium at a rally. When the people in charge talk about whole cities as an acceptable loss, folks who’ve spent generations being told their neighborhoods are expendable hear that loud and clear. Calling a major American city a “small price to pay” is the kind of line that stays with people.
Now, the White House has not offered a detailed explanation at the time of writing. CNN reached out for clarification on what Trump meant. Until somebody answers that question, Democrats will happily answer it for him on the airwaves.