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Updated: Trump draws cheers, then criticism for musing about Iran taking out LA and San Diego
President Donald Trump at a campaign rally on the Nebraska State Fairgrounds on Monday where the crowd laughed and cheered as he made remarks about L.A. and San Diego.
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Win McNamee
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Getty Images
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Editor's note: AP has released a new story about the remarks that says:
The White House clarified Donald Trump's comments at a Monday night rally, explaining that the president was not insinuating that he wanted Iran to attack U.S. cities but instead wants to prevent Tehran from having that capability.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said on social media Tuesday that the president's comments have been misunderstood and misrepresented in a “media freakout” that is “not rooted in reality.”
During a rally Monday night in Nebraska, President Donald Trump was going through his usual insistence that gas prices are only temporarily high and worth it as part of his war on Iran.
Then he added a new wrinkle, floating the idea that Tehran could “take out” two major American cities.
“They could take out a city,” he said. "Let ‘em take out Los Angeles. Let ’em take out San Diego.”
He continued as the crowd laughed and cheered: “This is a very small price to pay, and it’s going to be over with very soon.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who may run for president in 2028, answered on X, calling Trump “deranged and dangerous.”
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, who is running for reelection against Councilmember Nithya Raman, called the president's statements dangerous in a social media post.
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"The role of a president is to protect the country, not to actively threaten it and encourage attacks on American lives," she wrote.
The President of the United States suggested that a foreign government attack Los Angeles. His statements against our city are dangerous and could potentially compromise our safety.
— Mayor Karen Bass (@MayorOfLA) October 6, 2026
The role of a president is to protect the country, not to actively threaten it and encourage… https://t.co/tWZTgPpi21
Sam Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, in another post on X, said "San Diego is not collateral damage. We are not expendable. And we are never a 'small price to pay."
San Diego is not collateral damage.
— San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria (@MayorToddGloria) October 6, 2026
We are not expendable.
And we are never a "small price to pay."
Keep our city out of your reckless war talk. https://t.co/06z2qsEIMr
Trump has a history of denigrating U.S. cities, especially the largest ones that lean heavily Democratic. Los Angeles was among the cities where Trump deployed federal military personnel for what he said was a crackdown on crime, despite local authorities not wanting the troops.
At a recent North Carolina campaign rally, Trump said the state’s cities are “blood-soaked killing fields.” North Carolina’s violent crime rate ranks in the middle third of states, according to FBI statistics.
LAist staff contributed to this report.
Updated October 6, 2026 at 10:13 AM PDT
This story has been updated with comments from the White House.
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