On October 5, 2026, president Donald Trump hosted a campaign rally at the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center in Grand Island, Nebraska in advance of the 2026 midterm elections.
During the speech, Trump implied that Iran could destroy the US cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, and that their destruction would be worth it to win the war, leading to widespread condemnation.
Background The rally was held amidst the 2026 Iran war and four weeks before the November 3, 2026 midterm elections. It was among series of Republican rallies headlined by Trump in advance of the election. Trump had previously attempted to describe rising consumer costs due to the war as "a very small price to pay for getting rid of a nuclear weapon."
Trump has been a frequent critic of California and its Democratic leadership, including governor Gavin Newsom. In 2026, Trump deployed the National Guard to California to support a crackdown over illegal immigration in the Los Angeles area. The deployment ended in December 2025 after a federal judge ruled it was illegal.
Program Prior to Trump's speech, both Senator Pete Ricketts and Governor Jim Pillen, who are both running for reelection, made remarks.
When speaking about the Iran War, Trump defended the United States' military operations amidst rising costs for consumers as a result of the conflict.
Trump said, "It's a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe," adding, "They can take out a city. Let them take, let it — let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. That's — this is a very small price to pay, and it's gonna be over very soon." Attendees appeared to cheer after his suggestion.
The full transcript included:
Response
California politicians Trump's comments were condemned by California leaders, including by Democrats and Republicans.
Governor Gavin Newsom wrote, "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. He is deranged and dangerous."https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/6131167-gavin-newsom-donald-trump-rhetoric-los-angeles/ In a subsequent post, Newsom said he would direct the State Threat Assessment Center "to actively monitor the situation in the event that foreign actors interpret the President’s remarks as an invitation to target California." Newsom additionally called for the 25th Amenetment to be invoked against Trump, writing that Trump was "mentally ill".
Mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass said, "The role of a president is to protect the country, not to actively threaten it and encourage attacks on American lives," in a statement.https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/6133250-karen-bass-donald-trump-iran-attack-rhetoric-los-angeles-san-diego/ Mayor of San Diego Todd Gloria said the city was "not collateral damage" in Trump's war with Iran.
Both of California’s Democratic senators condemned the comments. Alex Padilla accused Trump of "inviting an attack on U.S. soil, putting millions of Americans and hundreds of thousands of our servicemembers at risk while trying to get Americans to cheer for an attack on our own country." Adam Schiff criticized Trump's promise that the war would end soon, writing "How many times have we heard that promise?" on X, adding "And if it means attacks on two major American cities in the process, he is not troubled by the cost."
Jim Desmond, a Navy veteran and San Diego County supervisor, who is the Republican nominee for California’s 48th Congressional District house seat, said he “vehemently” disagreed with Trump, adding that "America must stand up to Iran and defend our interests, but the first responsibility of our Commander in Chief is to protect the American people and our homeland.”
Republican representative Vince Fong wrote on X that "American cities like LA and San Diego would be under incredible threat if Iran had a nuclear weapon," adding "As California prepares to host the 2028 Olympics, our focus should be on protecting our nation, from securing the border to investing in Golden Dome missile defense to strengthening our cybersecurity – not misleading headlines or quotes taken out of context."
White House response The White House subsequently defended Trump's comments, describing the reaction as a "media freakout" and "not rooted in reality". White House communications director Steven Cheung said that Trump was "clearly stating US cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn’t been stopped."https://apnews.com/article/trump-take-out-los-angeles-san-diego-52a8262c33c8e28357634a3f06a5034c
News and media Steve Lopez, writing in the Los Angeles Times, wrote of Cheung's response, "This buffoon would like to point out that this is yet another case of Trump using California as a punching bag to prop up support for the war and nail down what’s left of his diminishing base."
On October 6, 2026, MS Now host Lawrence O'Donnell said "You live in a country, you live in a world tonight, where it is no longer news that the president of the United States appears to be insane. It remains the single most important ongoing news story of this era." In CNN, Aaron Blake wrote that Trump's comments were "incoherent, not malicious".
Jimmy Kimmel said Trump's comments were "one of the craziest, most indefensible statements” he’s ever heard "even this maniac make," subsequently joking that Trump should be reported to the Federal Communications Commission.
In The Guardian, Ted Widmer wrote that "It is inherently destabilizing when a nation’s leader cannot be trusted to make an accurate statement", and David Smith wrote, "The worst horror of all in Nebraska was not what the president said, but what Republicans and others failed to say in response."
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