Trump suggests letting Iran ‘take out’ Los Angeles, San Diego during campaign rally

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President Trump, speaking at a campaign rally Monday, suggested Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego — a comment that was possibly in jest but brought a quick reaction from leaders in California.

Trump said, “I want to see a tremendous victory … ’cause it verifies all the things we did. And again, remember, with the war it’s just artificial, it’s a little bit high.

“It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe,” he continued. “They can take out a city, let ’em take out Los Angeles, let ’em take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay.”

His comment met with criticism from California leaders.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom posted on X: “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.

“San Diego is not collateral damage,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria posted. “We are not expendable. And we are never a ‘small price to pay.’ Keep our city out of your reckless war talk.”

Trump made the remarks during a rambling speech in which he said gas prices would be lower soon, touted his ouster of Venezuela’s dictator, and made attacks on news outlets.

He was in Grand Island, Neb., encouraging residents of the deep-red state to vote as if he were on the ballot.

It was unclear whether Trump’s comments were based on any intelligence, and it’s far from clear that Iran has anywhere near the capability for a missile attack on the U.S.

In March, Iran launched missiles at Diego Garcia, an Indian Ocean island that is home to a strategic U.K.-U.S. military base. The Associated Press reported at the time that Iran has a self-imposed limit on its ballistic missile program, limiting the range to 1,240 miles. Diego Garcia is well outside that range. U.S. officials, however, long have alleged that Iran’s space program could allow it to build intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Also in March, law enforcement agencies across California were warned that the Iran war could lead to a surprise drone attack in the Golden State. But sources told The Times there’s no credible intelligence to support it and officials said they did not take it seriously.

‘We won.’ ‘Winding down.’ ‘Close to over.’ Six months of Trump on the Iran war Aug. 28, 2026 Trump says he wants to send federalized troops to L.A., San Francisco March 26, 2026 Trump vowed to end wars. He is now opening a new front against Iran Feb. 28, 2026 Show Comments California The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.

Iris Kwok is a breaking news reporter at the Los Angeles Times. She was a 2025-26 reporting fellow at The Times and previously covered the environment at Berkeleyside. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley, where she studied political science and music. A lifelong cellist, she has written about classical music for the San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Classical Voice. She grew up in the Bay Area and the Sacramento region.

Richard Winton is an investigative crime writer for the Los Angeles Times and part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for public service in 2011. Known as @lacrimes on X, during almost 30 years at The Times he also has been part of the breaking news staff that won Pulitzers in 1998, 2004 and 2016.

Ana Ceballos is a Washington correspondent for the Los Angeles Times. She covers the White House and Congress. Before joining The Times, she was a state government and politics reporter for the Miami Herald, where she covered the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis with a focus on immigration and education.

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