President Donald Trump faced intense political fallout on Tuesday after remarking at a Monday night campaign rally in Nebraska that letting Iran strike American cities like Los Angeles and San Diego would be a “small price to pay” for keeping the country safe.
The controversial statements quickly triggered fierce condemnation from California elected officials and a congressional candidate, while the White House scrambled to defuse the controversy by insisting the remarks were completely misinterpreted.
Trump Defends Military Operation Despite High Oil Prices
Speaking to a rally crowd on Monday night, Trump addressed the ongoing military conflict with Iran and record-high oil prices that threaten to shape the November midterm elections. The president initially downplayed spiking energy costs as “artificial” and “a little bit high.”
Turning to the military campaign, Trump defended the operation as a necessary path to global and domestic security. “It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe,” Trump told the audience to applause. “They can take out a city. Let them take let it let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. That’s this is a very small price to pay and it’s going to be over with very soon.”
The New York Times reported that it was not immediately clear what the president meant by the phrasing. However, the comments were swiftly interpreted across political lines as an alarming willingness to treat American population centers as expendable casualties of foreign conflict.
Immediate Political Outrage Across California
Elected officials in California reacted with immediate fury on social media platforms, condemning the remarks as reckless and dangerous.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria posted on X that “San Diego is not collateral damage … Keep our city out of your reckless war talk.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass echoed that condemnation, posting on X that the statements were “dangerous” and adding, “In the face of irresponsible threats, as Angelenos, we know how to stand together and protect our city.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom went further, posting on X that the remarks could be “treasonous” and announcing he was directing the State Threat Assessment Center to actively monitor the situation for any indication that foreign actors might view the president’s words as an invitation to target the state.
While the initial wave of condemnation came from prominent Democrats, Republican pushback materialized as well. Jim Desmond, a Republican congressional nominee in a San Diego metro district, broke ranks to criticize the rhetoric. “As a Navy veteran, I served to protect Americans, not write off American cities as an acceptable price of war,” Desmond posted on X. “Our job is to keep Americans safe, stand up to our enemies, and make sure a threat like that never becomes reality. No American city is expendable, and no American family should ever be treated as collateral damage.”
White House Claims Media Twisted Trump's Comments
By Tuesday, the administration pushed back against the widespread criticism, arguing that the president’s words had been twisted out of context.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung posted on X that “The media freakout over President Trump’s comments is not rooted in reality. He was clearly stating U.S. cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn’t been stopped. America is safer because of the President. Iran has no nuclear, no navy, no air force, and no money.”
The political friction coincided with separate reports on Tuesday indicating that most families of the six soldiers killed in the deadliest attack of the Iran war would not attend a major White House event for Gold Star families hosted by Trump.
