Donald Trump faced backlash Wednesday evening after seemingly doubling down on his “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego comment, with critics labeling the president’s remarks “disgusting and dangerous.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the president appeared at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas 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, which had controversially been interpreted as a dare to Iran to attack the West Coast cities.
“We had no choice, because we can’t let them have a new weapon,” he said, addressing the 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.
While Trump appeared to reframe his prior remarks as a criticism of Iran, many online were taken aback by the president’s decision to touch on the topic again.
“Trump just said it again: Let Iran hit Los Angeles or San Diego,” the official X account for the Democratic Party wrote Wednesday evening. “Disgusting and dangerous. End the war and hold him accountable.”
Veteran journalist Jim Acosta expressed a similar sentiment, writing on X, “You can sanewash this all you want. This. Is. Not. Normal.”
Amy McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot and political candidate from Kentucky, slammed Trump as a “lunatic” and highlighted how the U.S.S. Lincoln is slated to return to San Diego after a “grueling” deployment.
“What kind of lunatic talks like this? The USS Lincoln returns to San Diego tomorrow after a grueling 10+ month deployment. Sailors are finally coming home to their families,” she wrote on X. “And the President keeps saying, ‘Let them hit a missile into San Diego.’ What the hell is wrong with this man?”
On Monday, Trump touched on a similar topic while speaking to a rally crowd in Grand Island, Nebraska.
“They can take out a city,” Trump said of Iran. “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.”
Trump’s response team later clarified the president’s remarks, denying that he literally called on a foreign country to bomb U.S. cities. “You buffoons. He was saying the U.S. is fighting to STOP Iran from having the ability to take out LA and San Diego with a nuclear weapon — which they would if they had the chance,” Rapid Response 47 wrote on X Tuesday.
Yet, Trump’s statement sparked widespread controversy, prompting everyone from California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to “The Gilded Age” star Carrie Coon to speak out. His Wednesday night remarks have sparked a similar reaction online.
For a full round-up of reactions to Trump’s reframed comment, keep reading. A representative for the White House did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
