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Trump finally clarifies his ‘take out’ LA comment after three days of uproar

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Cite

Feinberg, A. (2026, October 8). Trump finally clarifies his ‘take out’ LA comment after three days of uproar. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-iran-los-angeles-san-diego-comment-b3063774.html

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

The Independent · collected 2026-10-08 · by Andrew Feinberg

Quick Summary

President Donald Trump addressed confusion over his controversial remarks about Iran potentially bombing Los Angeles and San Diego by claiming on Truth Social that he was making a comparison between higher gas prices and the potential devastation of city bombings. Three days earlier during rallies in Nebraska and Texas, Trump had suggested letting Iran “take out” these cities to illustrate his point about national security risks from Iran's nuclear program. The president’s comments sparked widespread criticism and attempts by his staff to downplay their significance, but California officials continued to voice concern over the remarks.
Written by AI on 2026-10-08, 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 2026-11-01, 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 9% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 4 of 39 claims Outlet record 68/100
The Guardian
Hedges 3 of 27 claims Outlet record 66/100
Los Angeles Times
Hedges 1 of 24 claims Outlet record 95/100
Global News
Hedges 4 of 12 claims Outlet record 63/100
“Article A describes Trump's original comment during a rally, while Article B reports on his clarification three days later.”
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 3 of 43 claims Outlet record 66/100
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 1 of 2 claims Outlet record 61/100
CBS News
Hedges 1 of 2 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A describes Trump's initial comment during a campaign rally, while Article B reports on his clarification three days later.”
New York Post
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 4 of 16 claims Outlet record 66/100
NBC News
Outlet record 60/100
“Both articles mention different locations (San Antonio vs Nebraska) and pertain to distinct incidents involving separate comments.”
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
9%
2 of 22 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent'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 2026-10-08 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Independent · 3480 article(s) · 8 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 8 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Andrew Feinberg
28 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 With days to go until what polls indicate will be a brutal midterm election for President Donald Trump and his Republican Party, the man who has implored MAGA voters to “pretend I’m on the ballot” is starting to panic.
🔮 Who could have guessed that Trump would get so spun up over a law that’s been on the books since Abraham Lincoln was president?
🔮 “Well, I guess you could say for that particular purpose, for the purpose of allowing a man who was thinking he was going to be in prison for life out.
🔮 “Well, I guess you could say for that particular purpose, for the purpose of allowing a man who was thinking he was going to be in prison for life out.
🔮 Who could have guessed that Trump would get so spun up over a law that’s been on the books since Abraham Lincoln was president?
🔮 It didn’t take Susie Wiles more than a few day to put a stop to the buzz in Washington that predicted her time as chief of staff was up.
🔮 President Donald Trump said on Monday that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is “70% filled with water and looking good” and warned that anyone who damages it again “will GO TO JAIL,” even though federal prosecutors appointed by Trump himself have told a court the pool’s lining was ruined by a botched installation and not by vandals.
🔮 You think about it, but I wouldn’t reconsider.
🔮 He reportedly has found no shortage of people willing to encourage him to dump his loyal aide overboard, with one GOP operative noting that Wiles has “burned a lot of people” in her time leading Trump’s administration.
🔮 She was asked about how she will handle the notoriously tough press secretary role while juggling being a mother to four children given how her predecessor chose to resign over the burdens of balancing the job with caring for just two children.
Also by Andrew Feinberg
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 28 articles by Andrew Feinberg →

Topics

California Iran Los Angeles Nebraska San Diego

Subjects

Los Angeles GPE · 9× San Diego GPE · 7× Trump ORG · 6× Iran GPE · 4× California GPE · 3× Donald Trump PERSON · 2× Nebraska GPE · 2× Cities GPE · 1× Independent NORP · 1× Truth Social ORG · 1×

Narrative

"The Fake and Artificial News is out there trying to say that I'm inviting the enemy to bomb San Diego and Los Angeles when, in actuality, what I was talking about was that a temporary increase in the price of Gasoline is a small price to pay for Iran not having a Nuclear Weapon and, if you want to see a big price, can you imagine what it would be like if they bombed San Diego and/or Los Angeles?"
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-08
🔮 "The Fake and Artificial News is out there trying to say that I'm inviting the enemy to bomb San Diego and Los Angeles when, in actuality, what I was talking about was that a temporary increase in the price of Gasoline is a small price to pay for Iran not having a Nuclear Weapon and, if you want to see a big price, can you imagine what it would be like if they bombed San Diego and/or Los Angeles?"

Claims (22 extracted, 2 hedged)

President Donald Trump insisted Thursday that he never invited Iran to bomb Los Angeles and San Diego, three days after telling a rally crowd in Nebraska to "let them take out" both cities while defending his war, which has pushed gasoline past $4.40 a gallon. asserted
which → insist → 4.40
"The Fake and Artificial News is out there trying to say that I'm inviting the enemy to bomb San Diego and Los Angeles when, in actuality, what I was talking about was that a temporary increase in the price of Gasoline is a small price to pay for Iran not having a Nuclear Weapon and, if you want to see a big price, can you imagine what it would be like if they bombed San Diego and/or Los Angeles?" asserted
they → try → Diego
Trump wrote on Truth Social. asserted
Trump → write → Social
"All I was doing was making a comparison between paying a little more, for a short time, for Gasoline, versus the bombing of our Major Cities.” asserted
I → do → Cities
The president then claimed that “everybody knew” what he’d meant and accused news outlets of continuing “to go out and say that I am asking the enemy to bomb two Cities that I love” while calling journalists who covered the incendiary comments “degenerates.” asserted
who → claim → comments
Trump’s post was a tardy attempt to walk back what was widely interpreted at the time as a verbal swipe at anti-war Democrats and Republicans who he has falsely accused of being in favor of Tehran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. asserted
he → walk → weapons
Speaking in Grand Island, Nebraska in support of GOP Senator Pete Ricketts, Trump said higher gas prices that have roiled his party’s approval ratings were worth bearing because Iran “could take out a city.” uncertain
Iran → speak → city
“Let them take out Los Angeles; let them take out San Diego.” he said, as the partisan crowd booed at the mention of both California cities. asserted
crowd → let → cities
He repeated similar comments during a Wednesday rally in support of Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton. asserted
He → repeat → Paxton
"You want to see trauma? asserted
You → want → trauma
You want to see problems? asserted
You → want → problems
And I said it the other day. asserted
I → say → it
Let them hit a missile into San Diego or Los Angeles. asserted
them → let → Diego
You want to see a horror show? asserted
You → want → show
Let them hit San Diego. asserted
them → let → Diego
Let them hit Los Angeles if you want to see some bad things happen,” Trump said. asserted
Trump → let → Angeles
Only then did he add the caveat that Thursday's post treats as having been obvious all along: "We're not gonna let that happen. asserted
that → add → caveat
We protect our cities; we protect our country." asserted
we → protect → country
In the days following the unhinged remarks ,the president's own staff had tried to close the matter without him even as he ducked reporter questions on the matter. asserted
he → follow → matter
White House communications director Steven Cheung dismissed the reaction as a "media freakout" that was "not rooted in reality," writing on X that Trump "was clearly stating U.S. cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn't been stopped." That staff-led cleanup effort did little to quiet California's leaders. " asserted
effort → dismiss → leaders
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," Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote. asserted
Newsom → send → Angeles
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass put it more plainly, writing on X that Trump had “suggested that a foreign government attack Los Angeles." uncertain
government → put → Angeles
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