Trump Draws Backlash After Remarks About Iran ‘Taking Out’ California Cities

President Donald Trump drew condemnation from California officials and at least one Republican congressional candidate after saying at a political rally that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles or San Diego.

Speaking Monday in Grand Island, Nebraska, Trump defended the economic costs of the war with Iran as “a small price to pay for keeping the world safe” and the United States safe. While discussing the threat posed by a nuclear-armed Iran, he said: “They could take out a city. Let ’em take out Los Angeles, let ’em take out San Diego.” The crowd applauded. Trump also said the war would end “very soon.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the remarks “deranged and dangerous” and said he had directed the State Threat Assessment Center to monitor whether foreign actors might interpret them as an invitation to target California. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the statements dangerous, while San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said his city was “not collateral damage” or expendable.

Jim Desmond, a Navy veteran and Republican candidate for a San Diego-area House seat, also criticized Trump. “The first responsibility of our Commander in Chief is to protect the American people and our homeland,” he said, adding that no American city should be treated as an acceptable cost of war.

White House communications director Steven Cheung rejected the criticism, saying Trump was describing the danger U.S. cities would have faced if a nuclear Iran had not been stopped.