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Trump sparks outrage for suggesting that Iran could ‘take out’ Los Angeles and San Diego

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Chakraborty, B. (2026, October 6). Trump sparks outrage for suggesting that Iran could ‘take out’ Los Angeles and San Diego. Washington Examiner. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/4755362/california-trump-iran-los-angeles-san-diego-war-cost/

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

Washington Examiner · collected 2026-10-06 · by Barnini Chakraborty

Quick Summary

President Donald Trump sparked controversy during a Republican rally by suggesting that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego as part of the costs of war, which he framed as necessary to protect the United States. Governor Gavin Newsom and mayors Todd Gloria and Karen Bass of San Diego and Los Angeles respectively condemned these remarks, calling them reckless and dangerous. Trump’s supporters later clarified on social media that the president was actually emphasizing his efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons capable of attacking those cities.
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 2026-11-04, 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 →

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This article reads leans left and hedges 18% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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Hedges 4 of 27 claims Outlet record 78/100
The Guardian
Hedges 3 of 27 claims Outlet record 66/100
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 4 of 30 claims Outlet record 66/100
South China Morning Post
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 3 of 7 claims Outlet record 62/100
ABC News (US)
Hedges 2 of 3 claims Outlet record 67/100
CBS News
Hedges 1 of 9 claims Outlet record 65/100
CBS News
Hedges 1 of 2 claims Outlet record 65/100
BBC News
Hedges 1 of 13 claims Outlet record 66/100
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 60/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
18%
4 of 22 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
69/100
Washington Examiner'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

Washington Examiner · 4199 article(s) · 8 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 8 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Barnini Chakraborty
31 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Rogers argued that el Sayed’s single-payer proposal would cost trillions of dollars and limit patients’ choices.
🔮 In Birmingham, Andrew Siff said he voted for Rogers because he did not believe an el Sayed victory would be in the best interest of the Jewish community.
🔮 Rep. Haley Stevens’s (D-MI) stunning endorsement of Republican Mike Rogers widened an already bitter feud with Abdul el Sayed, the Democratic nominee who narrowly defeated her in August’s primary, and injected fresh turmoil into a Senate race that could determine which party controls the chamber.
🔮 The four chairs they needed would add another $175 each.
🔮 Turkish, a disabilities and civil rights attorney from Huntington Woods, told the Washington Examiner that he had hoped el Sayed would use the time since winning the Democratic primary to move beyond the divisions over Israel and unite the party.
🔮 Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul el Sayed sparred over patriotism, the economy, healthcare, and Iran during their final debate Wednesday night, with each candidate spending much of the hour trying to tie the other to a political movement that some Michiganders may find unattractive.
🔮 Neither candidate landed a decisive blow in Michigan’s first Senate debate, but the exchange exposed the political liabilities both must overcome in a race that could determine control of the chamber: Mike Rogers’s ties to President Donald Trump and Abdul el Sayed’s challenge in winning over voters beyond his progressive base.
🔮 Rogers then raised the possibility that el Sayed might oppose such surveillance because someone in his family could appear on a watch list, prompting the Democrat to challenge him to make his insinuation explicit.
🔮 California leaders have criticized President Donald Trump after remarks on Monday that were interpreted by his opponents as a suggestion that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego.
🔮 California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) vetoed legislation this week that would have strengthened oversight of the state’s troubled high-speed rail project.
Also by Barnini Chakraborty
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 31 articles by Barnini Chakraborty →

Topics

California Iran Los Angeles Nebraska San Diego

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 10× California GPE · 8× Iran GPE · 7× San Diego GPE · 6× Los Angeles GPE · 5× Nebraska GPE · 3× Newsom PERSON · 3× Donald Trump PERSON · 2× Marines ORG · 2× the United States GPE · 2×

Narrative

Trump has previously said that the rising cost of gas is a “small” price to pay in comparison to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon — including on Monday in Nebraska — but given the circuitous way the president talks, particularly during rallies, the soundbite about Iran taking out California cities did not land properly and gave ammunition to his opponents.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-06
🔮 California leaders have criticized President Donald Trump after remarks on Monday that were interpreted by his opponents as a suggestion that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego.

Claims (22 extracted, 4 hedged)

California leaders have criticized President Donald Trump after remarks on Monday that were interpreted by his opponents as a suggestion that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego. uncertain
Iran → criticize → Angeles
Trump made the remarks at a Republican rally in Nebraska while defending his administration’s war with Iran and arguing that the conflict was necessary to protect the United States. asserted
conflict → make → States
He told the crowd he wanted a strong showing in the November elections to demonstrate support for his administration, before turning to the potential cost of the war. “It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe,” Trump said. asserted
Trump → tell → country
He continued: “They can take out a city. asserted
They → continue → city
Let ’em take out Los Angeles, let ’em take out San Diego. asserted
’em → let → Diego
This is a very small price to pay.” asserted
This → pay → ?
The comments immediately reverberated in California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and other elected officials sharply rejected the suggestion that either city should be considered expendable. asserted
city → reverberate → suggestion
Newsom, a frequent and outspoken critic of Trump, accused the president of making reckless and dangerous statements about California after already deploying National Guard troops and Marines to the state. asserted
Newsom → accuse → state
“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,” Newsom said in a social media post, describing the president as “deranged and dangerous.” asserted
Newsom → send → president
The mayors of both cities also pushed back. asserted
mayors → push → cities
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria (D) said his city should not be treated as collateral damage in a foreign conflict. asserted
city → say → conflict
We are not expendable,” Gloria said, urging Trump to “keep our city out of your reckless war talk.” asserted
Gloria → say → talk
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) similarly condemned the president’s remarks, warning that comments from the commander in chief carry consequences beyond political rhetoric. “The role of a president is to protect the country, not to actively threaten it and encourage attacks on American lives,” Bass said, calling the comments dangerous and warning they could potentially compromise the city’s safety. uncertain
they → condemn → safety
Trump has previously said that the rising cost of gas is a “small” price to pay in comparison to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon — including on Monday in Nebraska — but given the circuitous way the president talks, particularly during rallies, the soundbite about Iran taking out California cities did not land properly and gave ammunition to his opponents. asserted
Iran → say → opponents
Trump’s Rapid Response X account said the remarks had been misinterpreted and that he was making a broader point about the potential costs of war. asserted
he → say → war
“No, he didn’t, 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,” the social media post said. asserted
post → say → chance
Newsom has repeatedly clashed with Trump over the president’s use of federal authority in California, including the deployment of military personnel during unrest in Los Angeles. asserted
Newsom → clash → Angeles
The governor has portrayed Trump’s actions as an overreach of federal power and has emerged as one of the president’s most vocal political opponents. asserted
governor → portray → opponents
Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly criticized California’s Democratic leadership and policies, making the president’s reference to two of the state’s largest cities especially incendiary. asserted
reference → criticize → cities
Trump also told the Nebraska crowd that the war with Iran could be ending “very soon,” although he offered no details about what an end to the conflict would look like or when it might occur. uncertain
it → tell → conflict
Preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon has been one of the administration’s central arguments for military action against the country. asserted
Preventing → prevent → country
For California officials, however, the president’s comments shifted the focus from the broader conflict to the much more immediate question of why the president of the United States would suggest that attacks on two major American cities could constitute an acceptable cost of war. uncertain
attacks → shift → war
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