President Donald Trump told supporters at a campaign rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, on Monday night that Iran could be allowed to destroy Los Angeles and San Diego, framing potential attacks on two of America's largest cities as an acceptable cost of the ongoing U.S. war with Iran. 'They can take out a city,' Trump said. 'Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego.' The crowd applauded. Trump added that the conflict 'will end very quickly, one way or the other, very soon.'

The remarks drew immediate and sharp condemnation from California's governor and the mayors of both cities. Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X that Trump was 'deranged and dangerous,' noting that the president had already deployed the National Guard and Marines to California. 'The President is advocating for an attack on 10+ million U.S. residents in two of America's largest cities,' Newsom said in a follow-up statement from his press office. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said it was the president's role 'to protect the country, not to actively threaten it,' while San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria wrote that his city was 'not collateral damage' and 'never a small price to pay.'

The comments were made during a wide-ranging speech of nearly an hour and a half in which Trump also argued that economic pressures caused by the Iran war were a 'small price to pay for keeping the world safe.' It was not immediately clear whether Trump was making a crude rhetorical point about liberal-leaning cities, or whether he was referencing actual intelligence about Iranian targeting capabilities. Some conservative commentators argued Trump was speaking about high gas prices rather than literal military strikes. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The strategic significance of both cities adds weight to the controversy. San Diego is home to major U.S. military installations, making it a critical node in American defense infrastructure. Los Angeles hosts the U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command Headquarters, major aerospace contractors including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman, and federally funded research centers such as the RAND Corporation. U.S. defense officials have previously stated that Iran does not currently possess the capability to launch a direct missile strike on the American mainland.

The episode deepens an already contentious relationship between the Trump administration and California, a state that has been a repeated target of federal actions during Trump's presidency. With November midterm elections approaching, Trump had framed the Nebraska rally in part around building political momentum. The remarks are likely to intensify scrutiny of the administration's handling of the Iran conflict and its rhetoric toward Democratic-led states.