Trump Defends Controversial Remarks on Iran 'Taking Out' California Cities: 'All I Was Doing Was Making a Comparison'
Trump has doubled down on his controversial comments.
Oct. 9 2026, Published 6:50 p.m. ET
President Trump said that he was comparing a temporary rise in gasoline prices with an Iranian attack on San Diego or Los Angeles, and that he was not inviting an enemy to bomb either city, RadarOnline.com has learned.
On Thursday, October 8, Trump wrote on Truth Social that "the Fake and Artificial News" was claiming he had invited an enemy to bomb the two cities.
Trump Defends Comments on Truth Social
Trump believes the media has twisted his words.
"What I was talking about was that a temporary increase in the price of Gasoline is a small price to pay for Iran not having a Nuclear Weapon and, if you want to see a big price, can you imagine what it would be like if they bombed San Diego and/or Los Angeles?" he wrote.
"All I was doing was making a comparison between paying a little more, for a short time, for Gasoline, versus the bombing of our Major Cities."
He said he loves both cities and called the outlets covering the remarks degenerates.
Trump's Nebraska Rally
Trump thinks wartime gas prices are 'just artificial.'
At an October 5 rally for Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., Trump told the crowd that wartime fuel prices were "just artificial" and "a little bit high," and that they were "a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, for keeping our country safe."
"They could take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay, and it's going to be over with very soon," the 80-year-old remarked at the time.
Trump Doubles Down in Texas
Trump has used the line multiple times since the rally.
He returned to the same line two days later at a rally for Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton.
"You want to see trauma? You want to see problems? And I said it the other day. Let them hit a missile into San Diego or Los Angeles," he said.
The president added that such a strike would put the country "in freefall," and noted, "We're not going to let that happen. We protect our cities, we protect our country."
California Gov. Gavin Newsom Goes Off on Trump
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Gavin Newsom put the state's emergency preparedness center on alert.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said the Nebraska remarks were "dangerous, if not treasonous," and that they put "a target on two of our biggest cities and one of America’s largest naval hubs."
He directed the state's emergency preparedness center to monitor possible threats "in the event that foreign actors interpret the president's remarks as an invitation to target California," and he said Trump had "invited Iran to take out Los Angeles and San Diego."
Jim Desmond, the Republican candidate in California's 48th Congressional District, which includes part of San Diego, said the first responsibility of a commander in chief is to protect the homeland.
