Trump Says ‘Let Them Take Out Los Angeles’ or San Diego as Rally Crowd Cheers

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.