Donald Trump told supporters at an October 5 rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, that higher gas prices tied to the war with Iran were a “small price to pay” for keeping the country safe, then added, “Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego.” The crowd cheered and applauded. Mediaite reported the remarks, while PolitiFact published the broader context of Trump’s comments and Reuters and the Associated Press documented the ensuing backlash and White House response.

California officials condemned the statement. Gov. Gavin Newsom called Trump “deranged and dangerous.” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said a president should protect American cities, not talk about them as expendable, and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said his city was not collateral damage. Some Republicans also distanced themselves from the remarks, according to Reuters.

The White House argued that Trump was describing a hypothetical threat from Iran rather than endorsing an attack on California. White House communications director Steven Cheung said Trump’s point was that his Iran policy was intended to prevent such attacks. PolitiFact’s review of the full passage confirms that Trump was discussing the war, gas prices, and the danger he says Iran poses when he made the Los Angeles and San Diego remark.

Trump’s latest attack on California also fits a broader pattern of using the state and its Democratic-led cities as political targets. Earlier the same day, Los Angeles remained at the center of another Trump administration controversy after an FBI whistleblower alleged that the White House pushed the bureau to investigate protesters engaged in constitutionally protected activity. Stop The Donald Trump previously covered that disclosure here.

The Nebraska remarks drew attention not only because Trump named two major American cities, but because the crowd responded with cheers. That reaction turned a foreign-policy argument into a domestic political moment in which millions of Californians were described as an acceptable hypothetical cost in Trump’s own framing.

A former FBI supervisor alleges that the Trump White House pressured the bureau to investigate Los Angeles protesters for constitutionally protected activity, including people using megaphones to warn residents about immigration enforcement operations and advise them of their legal rights.

Jill Fields, a former supervisory intelligence analyst in the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, filed a formal whistleblower complaint with Senate Judiciary Committee leaders. According to NBC News, Fields alleges that senior Trump administration officials pushed the FBI to pursue investigations that violated First Amendment protections and the bureau’s own policies.

Fields says Emil Bove, who was serving as acting deputy attorney general at the time, directed the Los Angeles field office to open an investigation into activity outside a federal building even though she believed the conduct was protected speech. In a separate incident, she alleges that the White House directed FBI Director Kash Patel to investigate protesters who were using megaphones during immigration operations after FBI personnel had already reviewed the conduct and declined to open a case.

According to the complaint, Trump had viewed video of people warning residents about immigration enforcement, explaining their legal rights and advising them not to open their doors unless agents had a signed judicial warrant. Fields says a person whose name was redacted from the complaint told her that an investigation would be opened because the president wanted it.

The complaint also alleges that FBI agents in Los Angeles were pulled away from active cartel investigations to respond to protest activity. Fields says a supervisor described the shift as being about “optics” and making a show for the president.

Fields further alleges that supervisors were told not to put certain directives in writing. She says she was excluded from the matter after refusing to participate and later informed that she would be removed from leadership of three programs. Fields resigned from the bureau and says the personnel action was retaliation for protected internal disclosures.

The Government Accountability Project, which represents Fields, has confirmed her whistleblower disclosure and is calling for congressional and Justice Department inspector general scrutiny of the allegations.

The Justice Department disputed the complaint’s characterization. A department spokesperson described it as politically motivated and said violence is not protected by the First Amendment. NBC News noted that the complaint centers on nonviolent protest activity. The department also said the DOJ and FBI have a responsibility to investigate potential violations of federal law, including assaults on federal officers and conspiracies to impede law enforcement.

Sen. Alex Padilla of California told NBC News that the disclosure is another example of the Trump administration using the Justice Department against perceived political enemies. In a letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel, Padilla asked officials to preserve records related to the alleged investigation and provide information to his office.

The allegations describe an FBI pressured to redirect law enforcement resources and investigate protected political activity at the request of the White House. They also add to the broader record of political pressure on the Justice Department and federal law enforcement during Trump’s second term.

Source: NBC News, “FBI whistleblower says White House pushed unconstitutional probe of protesters”.