White House defends Trump’s comment that Iran could ‘take out’ Los Angeles and San Diego

Trump’s remark and the White House response

Donald Trump said that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego if a war had not begun earlier this year. The comment was made at a campaign rally in Nebraska on Monday. The White House said Trump was warning that U.S. cities would have been threatened if Iran had not been stopped.

California reaction

California Governor Gavin Newsom called the remark deranged and dangerous. He directed the State Threat Assessment Center to monitor the situation in case foreign actors interpreted the comments as an invitation to target California. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass described the statement as a threat and an attempt to encourage attacks on American lives. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said the city was not collateral damage and demanded Trump keep the city out of his “reckless war talk.”

White House rebuttal

White House Communications Director Stephen Cheung called the media reaction a “media freakout” and said Trump was stating that U.S. The White House rapid-response account described journalists from the Los Angeles Times as “buffoons” and reiterated that Trump was saying the U.S. is fighting to stop Iran from having the ability to take out Los Angeles and San Diego with a nuclear weapon.