After days of public scrutiny from both sides of the political aisle, President Donald Trump backtracked on comments that appeared to suggest he would accept Iran attacking Los Angeles and San Diego, saying Thursday that the U.S. would not allow the cities to be targeted.
“The Fake and Artificial News is out there trying to say that I’m inviting the enemy to bomb San Diego and Los Angeles when, in actuality, what I was talking about was that a temporary increase in the price of Gasoline is a small price to pay for Iran not have 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?” the president wrote in a Truth Social post.
“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. Everybody knew that, the Fake News knew it as well, but they continue to go out and say that I am asking the enemy to bomb two Cities that I love,” he continued. “It’s totally clear what I say but, these people are Degenerates, and think they can continuously get away with Fake News!”
The update marks a distinct turn for the president regarding the controversial comments he first made Monday at a rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, in which he seemingly challenged Iran to “take out a city,” referencing the two historically blue California hot spots.
“They can take out a city,” Trump initially said, to cheers from his supporters. “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. It’s … almost over with — and they might keep going a little long. You know, they always say they have a big threshold for pain. They need it. Let me tell you. They need it. But it’s going to end very soon. And it will end one way or the other.”
Politicians and media figures on all sides condemned the president’s comments. Soon after, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung also pushed back on the outcry. “The media freakout over President Trump’s comments is not rooted in reality,” he wrote on X at the time. “He was clearly stating U.S. cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn’t been stopped. America is safer because of the President. Iran has no nuclear, no navy, no air force, and no money.”
However, on Wednesday, the president appeared at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio to support U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton and House candidate Carlos De La Cruz heading into the midterm elections. During his rally speech, Trump appeared to try a revised version of his “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego remark from earlier in the week.
“We had no choice, because we can’t let them have a new weapon,” he said, addressing his reasons behind the war in Iran. “But 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 on the way. Let them hit. You want to see a horror show? You want to see problems?”
He added: “Let them hit San Diego. Let them hit Los Angeles if you want to see some bad things happen. You want to see a country that would be in free fall?”
“We’re not going to let that happen. We protect our cities. We protect our country. We’re not letting that happen,” Trump assured, before indicating that Iran would use a nuclear weapon against the U.S. if given the chance.
You can read a full list of social media posts regarding the scandal, here.
