WASHINGTON\u00a0\u2014\u00a0As President Trump zigzags across the country in the final weeks before the midterm elections, he has made California his favorite foil as he tries to fire up his base.<\/p>\n
On Monday, he blamed the Golden State for the rising cost of gas prices, claimed without evidence that its elections are rigged, and at a Nebraska rally suggested Iran could \u201ctake out\u201d Los Angeles and San Diego.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThey can take out a city, let them take out Los Angeles, let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay.\u201d<\/p>\n
The president\u2019s team on Tuesday said his remarks were misunderstood, arguing the president \u201cclearly\u201d stated that U.S. cities would have been threatened \u201cif a nuclear Iran hadn\u2019t been stopped.\u201d Trump declined to clarify what he meant by his statements when asked by a reporter Tuesday.<\/p>\n
But by then, Trump\u2019s remarks had already drawn fierce condemnation from California leaders, including Republican Jim Desmond, a Navy veteran running in a highly competitive race that is key to helping Republicans retain control of the House. <\/p>\n
\u201cI vehemently disagree with President Trump\u2019s comments,\u201d Desmond wrote on social media. \u201cAmerica must stand up to Iran and defend our interests, but the first responsibility of our Commander in Chief is to protect the American people and our homeland.\u201d <\/p>\n
The backlash exposed the risk of Trump\u2019s closing midterm strategy. Bashing California is a reliable applause line in red states like Nebraska, Alabama, Texas and Oklahoma<\/a>, where the president has been holding rallies trying to ensure his supporters get out to vote. But in this modern era, an incendiary comment can travel fast online and leave Republicans running in competitive districts in awkward spots, trying to distance themselves from Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n Overall, political observers see the episode as an example of how the president\u2019s political strategy can be unpredictable at a time when Republicans are trying to control the message the most.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether you like Trump or not, he is good at getting his message out and coming up with a message that can resonate and catch fire,\u201d said Mindy Romero, founder and director of the nonpartisan Center for Inclusive Democracy. \u201cI think the question now is: Is he starting to fail himself when it comes to his messaging?\u201d<\/p>\n California Democrats were quick to use Trump\u2019s remarks as a line of attack against him. Gov. Gavin Newsom called him \u201cderanged and dangerous\u201d and opened the state emergency operations center to assess potential threats. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria told Trump to \u201ckeep our city out of your reckless war talk.\u201d And Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said his comments could \u201cpotentially compromise our safety.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s remarks about the California cities on Monday were the most striking example yet of the president using California as a foil to rally a base in GOP strongholds. <\/p>\n In Nebraska and other red states in recent days, Trump has repeatedly cast California as a political boogeyman as a means to motivate voters to cast their ballots for the GOP candidates. <\/p>\n At an Oklahoma rally last week, Trump told the crowd that Republicans need to keep the party in control of Congress so that his administration can continue the work of combating fraud in blue states, like California. The administration\u2019s efforts, led by Vice President JD Vance, have sometimes been overestimated or nebulous.<\/p>\n But Trump tells supporters that in places like California, the administration is seeing \u201cbillions and billions of dollars of fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n In a social media post Monday, Trump began blaming the cost of fuel \u2014 a defining issue for voters this election cycle \u2014 on states like California.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s driving up Gasoline is no longer the Strait of Hormuz,\u201d Trump wrote. The issue, he said, is refineries being \u201cclosed up in Blue States, like California, by the Dumocrats.\u201d<\/p>\n Hours later, while rallying in Nebraska, Trump seemed to contradict himself as he promised the crowd that fuel costs would go down once the war in Iran was over.<\/p>\n \u201cThat will end very quickly, one way or the other, very soon, maybe a little after the election, maybe a little before, but it is going to end very soon,\u201d Trump said. \u201cWhen that happens, the oil will come tumbling down.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s messaging underscores how the war with Iran, which has gas prices topping $6 a gallon, has emerged as a potential liability for Republicans that the president is trying to address in subtle ways.<\/p>\n Polling on Trump\u2019s handling of the economy has remained low, even among Republicans. A University of Massachusetts Amherst poll last month found that only 22% of Americans perceive the economy in a good or fair state.<\/p>\n