GRAND ISLAND, October 6 — President Donald Trump sparked immediate backlash during a rally at the Pinnacle Bank Expo in Grand Island, Nebraska, by suggesting that Iran could ‘take out’ Los Angeles and San Diego, two major California cities home to significant U.S. military personnel.
Trump framed the remarks in the context of the Iran War and rising gas prices, stating that the conflict was ‘essentially almost over with’ and describing high fuel costs as ‘a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe.’ He then said, ‘They could take out a city. Let ‘em take out Los Angeles.
Let ‘em take out San Diego,’ drawing sharp criticism from California officials. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the comments ‘dangerous’ and asserted that ‘the role of a president is to protect the country, not to actively threaten it and encourage attacks on American lives.’ Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office responded by saying the President was ‘advocating for an attack on 10+ million U.S. residents in two of America’s largest cities,’ adding that ‘this is not normal’ and vowing to remind the public of that daily.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath labeled Trump a ‘treasonous, traitorous disgrace,’ declaring that ‘L.A. is the best of America’ and accusing the President of calling on enemies to attack U.S. soil while later accusing opponents of being anti-American.
Congressman John Garamendi, speaking on CNN Tuesday morning, expressed both anger and deep concern about Trump’s mental state, saying the President’s remarks showed he was ‘not well’ and that his ‘rambling’ could cause ‘severe problems for this nation.’ In response, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung issued a clarification on X, stating that Trump’s comments were meant to convey that U.S. cities would have been threatened by Iran had he not launched a war earlier in 2026.
Cheung wrote that ‘the media freakout over President Trump’s comments is not rooted in reality’ and that Trump was clearly stating cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn’t been stopped. The clarification drew pushback from Republican congressional candidate Jim Desmond of San Diego, who said no American city is expendable and emphasized San Diego’s strategic importance, noting that the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet is homeported there and the local defense community numbers approximately 300,000 people.
Desmond also noted that the USS Lincoln aircraft carrier, deployed to support operations in the Iran War, was scheduled to return to San Diego later that week. The incident intensified political tensions over national security rhetoric and the conduct of the ongoing Iran War, with critics accusing the President of endangering civilians and supporters framing the remarks as misinterpreted commentary on deterrence.
As of Monday, October 6, 2026, the controversy remains a focal point in debates over presidential conduct and military strategy. Watch for further responses from military leaders and congressional committees overseeing the Iran War.
