Photo via BBC News

California leaders hit back after Trump says Iran can 'take out' LA and San Diego

Read the original at BBC News ↗
Cite

Whitehead, J. (2026, October 6). California leaders hit back after Trump says Iran can 'take out' LA and San Diego. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6r7yn8pknyxo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

BBC News · collected 2026-10-06 · by Jamie Whitehead

Quick Summary

California leaders criticized President Trump after he suggested during a rally that Iran could attack Los Angeles or San Diego to address higher gas prices due to tensions with Iran. Governor Gavin Newsom called Trump "deranged and dangerous," while Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles said the president's role is to protect, not threaten, Americans. San Diego’s Mayor Todd Gloria also condemned the remarks on X (formerly Twitter), emphasizing that his city should not be part of reckless war talk. The article highlights the significant military presence in both cities, including naval bases and training centers for Navy SEALs and Marines.
Written by AI on 2026-10-06, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

During a campaign rally in Nebraska, former President Donald Trump suggested letting Iran "take out" Los Angeles and San Diego as part of his defense for high gas prices due to the war with Iran, claiming it would be a "small price to pay for keeping the world safe." This comment drew immediate backlash from California officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, who called Trump's remarks "deranged and dangerous," and Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles, who emphasized that the role of a president is to protect the country, not threaten it. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria also condemned the suggestion, noting that his city houses major military installations such as Naval Base San Diego and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, which collectively support 70,000 civilians and active-duty service members.

Written for “Trump Iran Comment Controversy” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 30 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump Iran Comment Controversy
Politics · 31 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
NBC News
Hedges 4 of 27 claims Outlet record 60/100
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 4 of 30 claims Outlet record 66/100
The Guardian
Hedges 3 of 27 claims Outlet record 66/100
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 4 of 22 claims Outlet record 70/100
ABC News (US)
Hedges 2 of 3 claims Outlet record 70/100
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 4 of 39 claims Outlet record 68/100
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 1 of 29 claims Outlet record 60/100
South China Morning Post
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 3 of 7 claims Outlet record 64/100
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 60/100
Global News
Hedges 4 of 12 claims Outlet record 63/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
13
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
1 of 13 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
68/100
BBC News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
31
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-06 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

BBC News · 4736 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Jamie Whitehead
4 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 William Shatner, who also helmed the SS Enterprise in Star Trek, said Sir Patrick brought "intelligence, grace and a deep sense of humanity to everything he did".
🔮 - Published Only authorised union protests will be allowed in French towns and cities on Saturday, President Emmanuel Macron has said, after demonstrations across the country turned violent last weekend. Speaking as some cities including Lyon and Nice imposed complete bans, Macron said "illegitimate" protests would not be allowed but unions would be offered alternative routes so that businesses could be protected.
🔮 Speaking about higher gas prices as a result of the US-Israel war with Iran, Trump said Tehran "taking out" Los Angeles or San Diego would be a "small price to pay for keeping the world safe".
🔮 When asked about if the prime minister believed the UK had the necessary forces to defend the sovereignty of the islands the spokesperson said "they will remain so far as long as the islanders wish".
Also by Jamie Whitehead
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

California Iran Los Angeles Nebraska San Diego

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 8× California GPE · 5× Los Angeles GPE · 4× Newsom PERSON · 3× San Diego GPE · 3× Iran GPE · 2× Nebraska GPE · 2× Gavin Newsom PERSON · 1× Karen Bass PERSON · 1× Tehran GPE · 1×

Narrative

San Diego, located 17 miles (27km) from the border with Mexico, is the eighth largest city in the US and is home to Naval Base San Diego, the home port of the US Navy's Pacific Fleet, and Naval Amphibious Base Coronado - the main training centre Navy Seals on the West Coast. It is also where Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is located, a base which 70,000 service members and civilians work at.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-06
🔮 Speaking about higher gas prices as a result of the US-Israel war with Iran, Trump said Tehran "taking out" Los Angeles or San Diego would be a "small price to pay for keeping the world safe".

Claims (13 extracted, 1 hedged)

- Published Leaders in California have condemned President Trump following comments he made during a midterms election rally in Nebraska. asserted
he → publish → Nebraska
Speaking about higher gas prices as a result of the US-Israel war with Iran, Trump said Tehran "taking out" Los Angeles or San Diego would be a "small price to pay for keeping the world safe". asserted
taking → speak → world
State governor Gavin Newsom described the US president as "deranged and dangerous," while Mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass said: "The role of a president is to protect the country, not to actively threaten it and encourage attacks on American lives." asserted
role → describe → lives
The cities are the largest in southern California and house major US military installations including Navy ports and Air Force bases. asserted
cities → house → ports
Trump described the war with Iran as almost over while speaking in Nebraska, and there were cheers from sections of the audience as the comments about the two Californian cities were made. asserted
comments → describe → cities
San Diego's Mayor Todd Gloria wrote the city was not collateral damage in a post on X, while demanding Trump keep it out of his "reckless war talk". In a second post on his official governor of California X account, Newsom shared an article on the comments from the Los Angeles Times saying it was "disgusting and disqualifying". asserted
it → write → Times
Trump is yet to respond to the comments made by California's leaders. asserted
Trump → respond → leaders
San Diego, located 17 miles (27km) from the border with Mexico, is the eighth largest city in the US and is home to Naval Base San Diego, the home port of the US Navy's Pacific Fleet, and Naval Amphibious Base Coronado - the main training centre Navy Seals on the West Coast. It is also where Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is located, a base which 70,000 service members and civilians work at. asserted
members → locate → which
Located approximately 120 miles (193 KM) north of San Diego, Los Angeles is the second most populous city in the US. asserted
Angeles → locate → US
This not the first time the US president and California governor, who may run for president in 2028, have publicly clashed. uncertain
who → run → 2028
Last year Trump described him as incompetent, saying he had failed to adequately respond after some of the Los Angeles anti-immigration enforcement protests turned violent. asserted
some → describe → protests
Newsom accused Trump of a "brazen abuse of power" after military personnel were deployed to secure federal buildings during those protests. asserted
personnel → accuse → protests
Earlier this year, Trump mocked Newsom's dyslexia, saying presidents should not have learning disabilities, which led to criticism from dyslexia charities. asserted
which → mock → charities
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support