Trump says Iran could ‘take out’ Los Angeles and San Diego. Their mayors remind him his job is to protect them
Trump was talking about higher gas prices when he suddenly named two American cities.
President Donald Trump told a Nebraska rally that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego while arguing that Americans were paying a “small price” for keeping the country safe. The mayors of both cities quickly responded by pointing back to the president’s responsibility to protect Americans.
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, Trump was discussing the war with Iran and its effect on prices Monday when he told the crowd, “They can take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego.” He followed that by calling it “a very small price to pay” and predicting the war would end soon.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria both pushed back after Trump singled out their cities. Bass said a president’s role is to protect the country, while Gloria said San Diego was neither “collateral damage” nor expendable.
Trump went from gas prices to naming two American cities
Trump began that portion of his remarks by talking about the economic impact of the Iran conflict. “It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe,” he said before shifting from higher costs to the possibility of an attack on the United States.
“They can take out a city,” Trump continued before naming Los Angeles and San Diego. The crowd cheered after the remark, according to the Los Angeles Times, and Trump again described the situation as “a very small price to pay.”
Trump on Iran: Let ’em take out Los Angeles and San Diego, it’s a small price to pay https://t.co/Fc4BcjVDKj
— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) October 6, 2026
Trump did not explain why he chose those two cities or present evidence during the speech that Iran could directly strike either one. The Los Angeles Times noted that it remains unclear whether Iran currently has the missile capability to hit the continental United States from its territory.
His wording also appears to have little precedent in the presidency. The Daily Beast reported that no other U.S. president appears to have suggested that the bombing of an American city would be an acceptable cost, although that does not prove a comparable remark has never appeared anywhere in the historical record.
Trump then returned to his prediction that the fighting would not last much longer, saying it was “essentially almost over with.” That timeline has shifted before, with claims from Trump changing answers about when the Iran war would actually end.
Trump has also repeatedly emphasized his own role in the conflict. Earlier this year, Trump insisted that he, rather than Israel, was responsible for the decision to begin the war.
Both mayors pointed back to the president’s job
Bass focused her response on what she said the president should be doing instead. “The role of a president is to protect the country, not to actively threaten it and encourage attacks on American lives,” she wrote on X.
Gloria directly answered Trump’s description of the situation as a small price. “San Diego is not collateral damage. We are not expendable. And we are never a ‘small price to pay,’” he wrote before telling Trump to keep the city out of what he called “reckless war talk.”
The criticism was not just coming from Democratic officials. Republican congressional candidate and Navy veteran Jim Desmond also rejected Trump’s comments, writing that the commander-in-chief’s first responsibility is protecting Americans and that “no American city is expendable.”
Bass and Gloria made the same point in different ways. Whatever Trump meant by the remark, neither mayor was willing to let Los Angeles or San Diego be treated as a “small price to pay.”
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
Follow The Mary Sue:
