President Donald Trump reiterated his controversial comments regarding Iran potentially striking Los Angeles and San Diego, offering a modified explanation during a rally in San Antonio, Texas. Previously, his statement, "Let them hit Los Angeles. Let them hit San Diego," had drawn widespread criticism from California leaders, media commentary, and even a former Trump advisor who described the remarks as "sloppy."
During the Texas rally, Trump elaborated on his earlier remarks, which were made in the context of defending his actions against Iran. He asked the crowd, "You want to see trauma? You want to see problems?" before restating his previous sentiment with an added condition. "And I said it the other day, let them hit a missile into San Diego or Los Angeles on the way," Trump said. "You want to see a horror show? You wanna see problems? Let them hit San Diego. Let them hit Los Angeles. You want to see some bad things happen? You want see a country that will be in free fall? We’re not going to let that happen. We protect our cities. We protect our country."
This followed a separate instance on Monday in Nebraska, where Trump stated, "It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe," and added, "They could take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego."