At a campaign rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, while discussing the war with Iran and its economic effects, Trump suggested that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles or San Diego as a “small price to pay.”
“It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe,” Trump said. “They can take out a city, let ’em take out Los Angeles, let ’em take out San Diego.”
The comments drew cheers, laughter and applause from the relatively small sized rally. But they laughed and cheered anyhow at the thought that Iran could bomb and wipe out up to 10 million people who live in the two cities. Because they’re only blue — they / we don’t matter.
They laughed in Nebraska, but no one in California was smiling. Here’s some of the reaction, as compiled by Patch San Diego.
Gov. Gavin Newsom responded on social media, pointing to Trump’s previous deployment of National Guard troops and Marines to California before criticizing the president’s latest remarks.
“Donald Trump is now saying our foreign enemies should ‘take out’ Los Angeles and San Diego,” Newsom wrote. “He is deranged and dangerous.”
Newsom’s press office also condemned the remarks, noting that more than 10 million people live in the two metropolitan areas.
“Let’s be clear: The President is advocating for an attack on 10+ million U.S. residents in two of America’s largest cities,” the governor’s press office wrote on social media. “This is not normal. None of this is. And we will continue to remind folks of that every day.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Trump’s remarks were dangerous and could jeopardize the city’s safety.
“The role of a president is to protect the country, not to actively threaten it and encourage attacks on American lives,” Bass wrote on social media. “In the face of irresponsible threats, as Angelenos, we know how to stand together and protect our city.”
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said his city was “not collateral damage” and “not expendable.”
“And we are never a ‘small price to pay,'” Gloria wrote on social media. “Keep our city out of your reckless war talk.”
The remarks also drew criticism from both candidates for the open 48th Congressional District seat in San Diego County.
Republican San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond said he “vehemently” disagreed with Trump.
“No American city is expendable, and no American family should ever be treated as collateral damage,” he wrote.
His Democratic opponent, San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert called Trump’s remarks “appalling and terrifying.”
“This is an impeachable offense by the Commander in Chief, who swore an oath to protect our country,” she wrote. “Our homes, our families and our communities cannot be treated as collateral damage or a political punch line by this President.”
One local San Diego County resident — in a knew-jerk reaction — said, “So much for feeling sorry about the farmers.”
Now we get to see how Republicans in San Diego and California will respond. Will they call it ‘just a joke,’ or will they take it more seriously. Every GOP candidate now needs to be asked about these comments and whether they agree like Steve Hilton, Mark Powell — or even those candidates who lean to the Republicans, like Richard Bailey.
He doesn’t understand his own irony. SD is a strategically important military town with hundreds SD based Sailors and Marines deployed as a result of the very war HE STARTED. Aside from the cruel and cold hearted disdain these supporters have for us because we’re only blue and don’t matter, they’re too stupid to understand irony I mentioned.
Absolutely vile and treacherous. The crowd cheering is so disgusting. Shame on them all. Does anyone know if Bailey has a response to this? This is his guy! And if it’s, “well I’m running for Mayor so my views on national politics don’t matter” call bullsh*t. Supporting Donald should be an absolute disqualification because it displays a lack of morality and poor judgement. That goes for all of his supporters running for office or not. You’re responsible for this menace.
Bravo, Jon! Couldn’t have said it better. Bailey said he’d vote for Trump a fourth time, if he could. Bailey’s cultish alignments are dangerous for San Diegans.
Yet another idiotic and abhorrent thing for Trump to say. Nov 3 just might be the catalyst for a re-emergence of the Never Trump GOP, if they can find where they left their spines. In this era of abusive Supermajorities at the City, County, State, and Federal levels, a sane loyal opposition party has never been needed more. And that applies to both parties.
A practitioner of the outrageous, there is nothing Donald Trump won’t say if it gets the reaction he needs — this is the nuclear version of his Celebrity Rules comments (about grabbing stars by their pussies with zero blowback) that were met with gasps and nervous laughter and appreciation for his disdain for public decorum. Whataguy. Trumpcouldcareless. I’mgonnavoteforTrump. Trump’salwaysgoodforalaugh.
Trump is disgusting, a destroyer and a scourge. He shouldn’t be where he is. We need to interrupt the narrative by voting him and his fellow travelers out. Then impeach him and make it stick..
I despise Trump as much as anyone, or at least almost as much. However, in this case I think this is being blown out of proportion. I believe the intent of the comment was to suggest that Iran could potentially take out Los Angeles or San Diego, not that they should or are invited to do so.
However, I could also obviously be mistaken.
He was saying it would be a small price to pay to ultimately win and lower gas prices. He was not inviting it but he was dismissing us as acceptable collateral damage.
Okay, Greg, try that line with your fellow San Diegans. We all heard it and we all heard the laughter and applause. You didn’t really address that.
I think you misinterpreted me. I was merely giving an account of what he said. Dismissing us as acceptable collateral damage is disgusting and the horrible people of Grand Island, Nebraska laughing at it are deplorable(s).
Okay, sorry.
The White House and some republicans are saying it was just “a joke.” Again, what about all the laughter and applause?
No, actually, it’s not being “blown out of proportion.” Think about it rather than downplay and shrink from the possibilities. Trump’s remark was a speculative hypothetical comment typical of him, intended to provoke shocked amusement and admiration for his stunning audacity from a friendly crowd of MAGA followers. A narcissist, Trump does it all the time.
But it becomes menacing and beyond the pale when, as President of the (nuclear-dominant) United States, he casually speculates publicly that it might be Iran (the foe with whom he is at war ostensibly and ironically, to prevent that country from building a nuclear weapon it may already have) who preemptively “takes out” the American cities of Los Angeles and San Diego. Then he calls that notion “a small price to pay.”
To what end? Resolving the conflict? Lowering gas prices? Eliminating two cities that are political thorns in his side? Or is Trump just thinking out loud about engaging in nuclear Armageddon — long feared ever since the United States “annihilated” a couple of other places — the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Trump is grandiose, unstable, unreliable and unchecked within the government he has created and dominates. The USA is at a political turning point domestically with elections ahead. Trump’s war buddy Benjamin Netanyahu and nuclear-armed Israel also face elections soon, with possible prison ramifications for Netanyahu personally. Conflicts are spreading throughout the tinderbox Middle East. The USA military is increasing its presence in the region. Trump says it will all be resolved “after the Mid-Terms.” Meanwhile, every single international treaty on nuclear investigation, containment and proliferation has expired.
What could possibly go wrong?
I often torture myself reading Nextdoor. Usually news about local situations like the stolen Tesla on the boardwalk or the Turquoise Tower. Lately Nextdoor is allowing more political posts, mostly local. One concerned these comments from the dementia ridden narcissistic president. To the many follow up posts from people living in the fox bubble trying to defend his comments, I have a one word response. ‘outFOXed’
The fact that so much time and energy is devoted to analyzing what “he really meant” is exactly the problem. The President of our United States should be an articulate leader that conveys unity and democratic values at every public appearance. That’s the job.
This is hilarious if you think about it. But it turns into more moronic verbal diarrhea if you continue to think about it. Every day we get fresh spew while the Fascist co-conspirator sycophants huddle together trying to figure out how to cheat the coming midterms and get away with it.
So let’s go beyond that and figure out why would Iran want to do anything like this, shall we? Instead of getting all worked up, ask yourself these questions:
What political party started this war?
What states voted for the party that started this war?
What major cities in those states were majority votes for the party that started this war?
And where is the person located that authorized this war, who continually threatens nuclear obliteration, and assassinated their supreme religious leader?
My guess is that nobody named anywhere on the West Coast as a possible ‘target’ for revenge. Remember, Trump started this war with a Pearl Harbor attack. And he’s an East Coast frat boy.
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So let’s forget the Iranian people who are currently being bombed that should be filled with as much revenge as the US after Pearl Harbor. Let us instead focus on the people I’d be most worried about, those violence-prone MAGATS in the background smiling and laughing and cheering on their Dear Leader because, in my opinion and as recent history has shown, they are quite willing to attack those that don’t buy into their fantasies. And we can’t tell who they are except by their red hats and so-called ‘patriotic’ clothing that so many drape themselves in…until their mouths open and the ignorance and bile and hate come spewing out.
Funny that I thought Nebraska was full of farmers begging for government handout money after they lost all of their workers to ICE right before their overseas sales contracts went poof…due to their proven stupidity in voting and not understanding the consequences of their votes.
Ah well, I wouldn’t worry about Iran attacking the West Coast with fleets of bombers and their giant navy anytime soon. It really isn’t very likely. But they will probably continue with those spot-on AI parody cartoons.
sealintheSelkirks
The administration says they could attack us with small boats and drones.
A president of the United States announcing to a group of people in Nebraska that Iran could “take out” (as in bomb) Los Angeles and San Diego is both appalling and grounds for United States Congress and Senate to remove said president from office through the 25th Amendment, as well as consider the statement evidence for TREASON. I would point out that both cities document 5,296,106 people residing who could die from Iranian bombs and that 40+% of them are registered Republicans. Snopes verified what I viewed and read in transcript that the President actually said to the folks in Nebraska. To me this is TREASON to advocate Iran bomb two United States cities.