Trump suggests letting Iran "take out" L.A., San Diego during rally

President Donald Trump drew sharp criticism from California officials after telling a crowd at a campaign rally in Nebraska that Iran could be allowed to strike Los Angeles and San Diego. Trump described such an outcome as an acceptable cost for safeguarding the nation and the world, saying Iran could destroy a city and that it should go after those two, according to CBS News.

Governor Gavin Newsom answered on X, pointing out that Trump had previously dispatched the National Guard and Marines to occupy California, and called the president deranged and dangerous for suggesting foreign adversaries should hit the two cities. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also posted on X, arguing that a president's job is to defend the country, not to menace it or invite attacks on Americans.

CBS News notes the stakes for both places. Los Angeles is the second most populous city in the country and hosts the Space Force's Space Systems Command headquarters, along with major aerospace firms Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman and research centers receiving federal money, such as the RAND Corporation. San Diego ranks eighth in size nationally and has large military installations in and around it.

Summarized by PolitiKool from CBS News’s reporting. Read the full story at CBS News →