GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (TNND) — President Donald Trump suggested Monday night that an Iranian attack on Los Angeles or San Diego would be a “small price to pay” for the United States to prevail in the war.
Speaking at a rally in Nebraska, Trump was defending higher gas prices he said were tied to the conflict. “It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe,” he said. “They can take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego.”
The president did not explain whether he was describing a specific threat, speaking hypothetically or making a political jab at the two California cities.
Nuclear weapons did not come up in the remarks, though Trump has repeatedly defended the U.S. military campaign against Iran as necessary to prevent Tehran from developing one. He also predicted the war would end “very soon,” while mocking Iran’s claim that it has a “big threshold for pain.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom quickly fired back on social media, again criticizing Trump over the deployment of National Guard troops and Marines to the state during his immigration crackdown.
“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 wrote on X. “He is deranged and dangerous.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said, “The role of a president is to protect the country, not to actively threaten it and encourage attacks on American lives.”
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria also called out Trump on X, writing: “San Diego is not collateral damage. We are not expendable. And we are never a ‘small price to pay.’ Keep our city out of your reckless war talk.”