White House defends Trump remark on Iran striking Los Angeles and San Diego

Donald Trump's remark that Iran could "take out" Los Angeles and San Diego has drawn strong criticism from California politicians, while the White House has rejected the backlash.

Trump made the comments on Monday at a campaign rally in Nebraska while discussing the conflict with Iran. He called it a "small price to pay" for keeping the world and the country safe, adding: "Let them take out Los Angeles, let them take out San Diego." Parts of the audience cheered.

California's response

Governor Gavin Newsom called the remark "deranged and dangerous," while Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass described it as a threat and an attempt to "encourage attacks on American lives." The morning after, Newsom said he had directed the California State Threat Assessment Center to monitor the situation in case foreign actors read the comments as an invitation to target the state. The agency is intended to detect and prevent security threats in California.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria wrote on X that the city was not collateral damage and urged Trump to keep it out of his "reckless war talk." Trump has not yet responded to the statements from California's leaders.

The White House explanation

White House Communications Director Stephen Cheung wrote on X that the "media freakout" was not rooted in reality. According to him, Trump was saying that US cities would have been threatened had a nuclear Iran not been stopped. The official White House rapid response account also called Los Angeles Times journalists "buffoons" and repeated that explanation.

The president and other officials often argue that disrupting Iran's nuclear programme was essential for US national security.

The cities' military significance

San Diego lies 27km from the Mexican border. It hosts Naval Base San Diego, home port of the US Pacific Fleet, and Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, as well as nearby Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, where 70,000 service members and civilians work. Los Angeles, about 193km north of San Diego, is home to the US Space Force's Space Systems Command headquarters and Los Angeles Air Force Base.