Get you up to speed: Trump suggests allowing Iran to “take out” LA and San Diego during campaign rally
Governor Gavin Newsom condemned President Trump after his comments suggesting that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego if it developed a nuclear weapon. The remarks were made during a campaign rally in Nebraska, with immediate backlash from Newsom and other California officials.
The comments made by President Trump have sparked a robust response from California officials, with Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass condemning the rhetoric. San Diego’s military installations, which include Naval Base San Diego and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, are critical to national defence and have not been identified as a target in any official capacity.
California Governor Gavin Newsom condemned President Trump’s comments suggesting Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego, calling him “deranged and dangerous.” In response, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass asserted that the president’s role is to protect the country, while San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria emphasised that their city is “not collateral damage” and rejected any notion of being expendable.
What remains unclear — It is not clear what actions, if any, President Trump intends to take regarding his controversial remarks about Iran and Los Angeles.
Trump suggests allowing Iran to target Los Angeles and San Diego at rally
Tom Wait joined WTX2 and KCAL9 in March 2013 as a general assignment reporter.
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Gov. Gavin Newsom rebuked President Trump after he appeared to suggest letting Iran “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego if the country developed a nuclear weapon.
“It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe,” Mr. Trump said Monday night during a campaign rally in Nebraska. “They can take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego.”
Attendees cheered after his suggestion. It was not immediately clear what Mr. Trump meant, but the comments were quickly condemned by Newsom and other California officials.
“After sending the National Guard and Marines to occupy California, Donald Trump is now saying our foreign enemies should ‘take out’ Los Angeles and San Diego,” Newsom wrote on X. “He is deranged and dangerous.”
Mr. Trump also suggested the war in Iran “will end very quickly, one way or the other, very soon.”
In addition to being the country’s second-most populous city, LA is home to the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command Headquarters, aerospace contractors including Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman, and federally funded research centers such as the RAND Corporation.
“The role of a president is to protect the country, not to actively threaten it and encourage attacks on American lives,” LA Mayor Karen Bass wrote on X.
San Diego, the nation’s eighth-largest city, has major military installations in and around it, including:
- Naval Base San Diego, the homeport of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet
- Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, where 70,000 civilians and active-duty service members live and work
- Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, the main training ground for Navy SEALs on the West Coast
“San Diego is not collateral damage,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria wrote on X. “We are not expendable. And we are never a ‘small price to pay.’ Keep our city out of your reckless war talk.”