LOS ANGELES: President Donald Trump suggested to a crowd of his supporters in Nebraska that Iran could “take out” a major US city like Los Angeles or San Diego, drawing a swift rebuke from California’s Democratic leaders and some fellow Republicans.
Trump, speaking at a political rally in the state’s farm belt on Monday (Oct 5), discussed American wartime economic sacrifices and said he was determined to “see a tremendous victory, because it verifies all the things we did.”
“And again, remember, with the war, it’s just artificial, it’s a little bit high, it’s a small price to pay,” he told the crowd in Grand Island, Nebraska, apparently referring to rising prices of fuel, fertiliser and other products attributed to energy market disruptions from the war.
“It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, for keeping our country safe. They could take out a city. Let ’em take out Los Angeles, let ’em take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay, and it’s going to be over with very soon,” he said.
“It’s essentially almost over with,” Trump went on. “But it’s going to end very soon, and it’s going to end one way or the other.”
On Tuesday, the White House dismissed criticism of the remark. “The media freakout over President Trump’s comments is not rooted in reality. He was clearly stating US cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn’t been stopped,” White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung said in a social media post.
“America is safer because of the President. Iran has no nuclear, no navy, no air force, and no money.”
Trump has shrugged off cost-of-living concerns stemming from the Iran conflict before, and he previously downplayed his concerns about the potential for Iran or its allies to launch an attack on US soil.
EARLY VOTING UNDERWAY IN CALIFORNIA
The comment in rural Nebraska, a state Trump won with more than 55 per cent of the vote in the 2024 presidential election, targeted Democratic-run cities in California, a solidly Democratic state the president often criticises.
Monday’s comments prompted a backlash from California officials.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, denounced the Republican president as “deranged and dangerous”.
“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.
Newsom, who has positioned himself as a major political foil to Trump and is seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, juxtaposed a video clip of Trump in Nebraska with mention of the president’s previous rhetoric to justify deploying US military troops to Los Angeles and other cities to fight crime and enforce immigration.