At a campaign rally in Nebraska Monday night, President Trump defended the war with Iran and the high gas prices that have come with it by saying Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego, and that it was “a small price to pay.”
The White House says he was misunderstood and meant the war is stopping Iran from ever being able to do that. Here’s exactly what he said, and you can judge it yourself.
What did Trump say about Los Angeles and San Diego?
Speaking in Grand Island, Nebraska, Trump talked about the war and the higher gas prices it’s caused. Then, according to NBC Los Angeles, he said:
It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe. They 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 and it’s going to be over very soon. It’s essentially almost over with, and they might keep going a little long, you know? They always say they have a big threshold for pain.
President Trump, Grand Island, Nebraska, October 5
He didn’t mention nuclear weapons in that passage. He has repeatedly said the war is needed to keep Iran from building one.
What does the White House say he meant?
The White House’s rapid response account on X told critics: “No, he didn’t, you buffoons. He was saying the U.S. is fighting to STOP Iran from having the ability to take out LA and San Diego with a nuclear weapon — which they would if they had the chance.”
Communications director Steven Cheung said Trump “was clearly stating U.S. cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn’t been stopped,” and called the reaction a “media freakout.” On Tuesday, Trump walked away when CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked him what he meant.
How did California leaders respond?
- Gov. Gavin Newsom: “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 is deranged and dangerous.”
- Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass: “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: “San Diego is not collateral damage. We are not expendable. And we are never a ‘small price to pay.'”
- Jim Desmond, the Republican congressional nominee in a San Diego-area district: “As a Navy veteran, I served to protect Americans, not write off American cities as an acceptable price of war.”
Sen. Alex Padilla noted that at least 19 U.S. service members have died in the war, including a Nebraskan, Noah Tietjens.
The BeezLoop Take
Read the full quote and the White House’s version gets hard to sustain. Trump wasn’t talking about a nuclear Iran. He was talking about gas prices and the cost of the war, and he called it “a very small price to pay” in the same breath as “let them take out Los Angeles.” The clean-up came afterward, from staff.
Maybe he garbled a point about deterrence. Presidents misspeak. But when the president of the United States, during a war, names two American cities as acceptable losses, “you buffoons” isn’t an answer. The simple fix was for Trump to say he misspoke. When Kaitlan Collins gave him the chance, he walked away.
It matters beyond California. Millions of people live in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas, and American service members are fighting this war. The open question is the one Collins asked: what did he mean?
Also on BeezLoop: MAGA support for Trump fell nine points since spring, and the reason is on the gas station sign.
Related: Gas is over $4.10, and the price is being set in the Strait of Hormuz.
Sources: NBC Los Angeles · CBS Los Angeles · The National News Desk via FOX 17 · Associated Press
