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Lopez: 'Take out' L.A. or San Diego? This buffoon thinks Trump was way out of line

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Cite

Lopez, S. (2026, October 6). Lopez: 'Take out' L.A. or San Diego? This buffoon thinks Trump was way out of line. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-10-06/take-out-la-or-san-diego-this-buffoon-thinks-trump-was-way-out-of-line

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

Los Angeles Times · collected 2026-10-06 · by Steve Lopez

Quick Summary

President Trump made comments during a speech in Nebraska that suggested it wouldn’t be a significant issue if Iran attacked Los Angeles or San Diego, saying “Let ‘em take out Los Angeles. Let ‘em take out San Diego.” This prompted criticism from local officials like San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who called the remarks dangerous and potentially compromising to safety. The White House responded by claiming that Trump’s comments were misrepresented. Columnist Ruben Lopez critiques these statements and the broader implications of Trump's leadership, drawing parallels between managing his presidency and cleaning up after a dog.
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 →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
CBS News
Hedges 1 of 9 claims Outlet record 65/100
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 4 of 39 claims Outlet record 69/100
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 60/100
The Guardian
Hedges 3 of 27 claims Outlet record 66/100
ABC News (US)
Hedges 2 of 3 claims Outlet record 67/100
BBC News
Hedges 1 of 13 claims Outlet record 68/100
Global News
Hedges 4 of 12 claims Outlet record 63/100
NBC News
Hedges 4 of 27 claims Outlet record 78/100
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 2 of 33 claims Outlet record 66/100
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 4 of 22 claims Outlet record 69/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
50
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
4 of 50 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
95/100
Los Angeles Times'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

Los Angeles Times · 268 article(s) · 0 correction(s) detected
No corrections detected for this publisher. That may mean careful reporting, or simply that nothing has been checked.

Who wrote this

Steve Lopez
6 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Late one afternoon, at the intersection of South La Brea Avenue and Obama Boulevard, Shirley Dace cold-called fellow Angelenos and encouraged them to give L.A. Mayor Karen Bass a second term.
🔮 Here’s who won the L.A. mayoral debate
🔮 Our columnists analyze L.A.’s mayoral debate
2026-10-14 · assertive framing · Live chat: Our columnists analyze L.A.'s mayoral debate
🔮 This buffoon thinks Trump was way out of line - Click here to listen to this article - - Maybe a gratuitous and unfunny line about anyone taking out American cities is better left unsaid. -
🔮 All those undecided L.A. voters may actually know what they want — someone to win them over - Click here to listen to this article - - If you want to lead a world-class city, you need to have world-class answers.
🔮 I could go on, and I will.
Also by Steve Lopez
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 6 articles by Steve Lopez →

Topics

American L.A. Nebraska San Diego White House

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 11× Nebraska GPE · 5× Philly ORG · 4× San Diego GPE · 4× American NORP · 2× Iran GPE · 2× L.A. GPE · 2× Steven Cheung PERSON · 2× White House ORG · 2× Los Angeles GPE · 1×

Narrative

A normal person would have the good sense to scale back or shrink away. Trump keeps doubling down, wants to put his name on everything, and lashes out the way someone does when it’s not clear what’s bigger — their ego or their insecurity.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-06
🔮 This buffoon thinks Trump was way out of line - Click here to listen to this article - - Maybe a gratuitous and unfunny line about anyone taking out American cities is better left unsaid. -
2026-10-06 · Los Angeles Times
Lopez: 'Take out' L.A. or San Diego? This buffoon thinks Trump was way out of line · assertive framing

Claims (50 extracted, 4 hedged)

This buffoon thinks Trump was way out of line - Click here to listen to this article - - Maybe a gratuitous and unfunny line about anyone taking out American cities is better left unsaid. - asserted
anyone → think → cities
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung claimed Trump was misrepresented. asserted
Trump → claim → ?
I went to bed at a decent hour Monday night and got a pretty good sleep. asserted
I → go → sleep
I woke up refreshed Tuesday morning, only to see the news that President Trump seemed to have told a crowd in Nebraska that it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if Iran attacked Southern California. “Let ‘em take out Los Angeles. asserted
em → wake → Angeles
Let ‘em take out San Diego,” he said in a typically meandering speech, perhaps trying to justify a war he has repeatedly claimed is keeping the U.S. safe, even as gas prices have spiked. asserted
prices → let → U.S.
“This is a very small price to pay.” asserted
This → pay → ?
The Nebraska crowd cheered. asserted
crowd → cheer → ?
“San Diego is not collateral damage,” said San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. asserted
Gloria → say → ?
Such “dangerous” remarks could “potentially compromise our safety,” said L.A. Mayor Karen Bass. uncertain
Bass → compromise → safety
“He is deranged and dangerous,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom. asserted
Newsom → derange → ?
About 8 a.m., I took my dog Philly out for our morning walk. asserted
I → take → walk
I clear my head. asserted
I → clear → head
I got to thinking about the similarities in the daily routines of Philly and the president of the United States. asserted
I → get → States
The thing is, I carry bags with me and clean up after Philly. asserted
I → carry → Philly
The president to my knowledge has nobody on his staff doing this. asserted
president → have → this
We are at a point in American politics at which we must consider posting signs, everywhere Trump travels, that say, “Please Curb Your President.” asserted
that → consider → President
Not that it would be easy to clean Trump’s daily messes. asserted
it → clean → messes
You’d need the equivalent of those parade attendants in overalls who run along behind the horses with shovels. asserted
who → need → shovels
The White House does not use poop bags. asserted
House → use → bags
Instead, it uses denial and spin. asserted
it → use → denial
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. asserted
prices → make → outlets
Critical reactions to Trump’s Nebraska comments were “not rooted in reality,” said White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung, who claimed Trump was misrepresented. asserted
Trump → root → Communications
We’ve got to respect Cheung’s opinion. asserted
We → get → opinion
Does anyone in the world have more experience when it comes to analyzing comments not rooted in reality? asserted
it → have → reality
Some of you may know there are two topics I often revisit in my column. uncertain
I → know → column
So I feel eminently qualified to psychoanalyze the president. asserted
I → feel → president
I don’t mean to generalize, but as people age, it’s not unusual for them to undergo behavioral changes. asserted
them → mean → changes
Some folks mellow, they abide, they lean into the ride. asserted
they → mellow → ride
Others can become churlish, combative or grouchy. asserted
Others → become → ?
Not only is Trump the poster boy for the latter group, but as things go wrong, he becomes more obstinate. asserted
he → go → group
And things have definitely gone wrong. asserted
things → go → ?
The president is personally responsible for rising gas prices. asserted
president → rise → prices
He’s ruined the economy with his tariffs. asserted
He → ruin → tariffs
He’s picked a fight with Canada. asserted
He → pick → Canada
He may cost his party the House and the Senate because his almost daily outrages have pumped oxygen back into the blood of long-slumping Democrats. uncertain
outrages → cost → Democrats
A normal person would have the good sense to scale back or shrink away. Trump keeps doubling down, wants to put his name on everything, and lashes out the way someone does when it’s not clear what’s bigger — their ego or their insecurity. asserted
what → have → everything
I enjoy corn, on or off the cob. asserted
I → enjoy → cob
But thank you very much, Nebraska, for Fred Astaire, Johnny Carson and Henry Fonda, who, by the way, was born in Grand Island, where Trump made his cracks Monday about California. asserted
Trump → thank → California
Did it occur to any of the shuckers who cheered Trump’s throwaway line about an attack on San Diego and L.A. that: A: It wasn’t funny. asserted
It → occur → Diego
B: San Diego has one of the nation’s largest military installations, with thousands of personnel currently deployed to the Middle East because of the war in Iran. asserted
Diego → have → Iran
…and 10 more, not listed.
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