Donald Trump defended the economic costs of his conflict with Iran by suggesting that cities could be "taken out," referencing Los Angeles and San Diego during a midterm campaign rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, on Monday. The remarks came as he sought to boost Republican Senator Pete Ricketts, who faces a competitive challenge from independent candidate Dan Osborn.
"The president was attempting to boost Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), who is facing an unexpectedly competitive challenge from independent candidate Dan Osborn, when he sought to justify higher fuel prices amid the conflict he launched in February," the report states.
"Remember, with the war, it’s just artificial. It’s a little bit high. It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe. They could take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego,” Trump said.
The comments about the two California cities being “taken out” were met with cheers and applause from the audience. It remained unclear whether Trump was suggesting Iran should be permitted to target these cities or if he was using them as examples of what could happen without his actions against Tehran.
Trump continued, "This is a very small price to pay and it’s gonna be over with very soon. It’s essentially almost over with. And they might keep going a little long. You know, they always say, ‘They have a big threshold for pain.’ They need it, let me tell you, they need it. But it’s gonna end very soon. And it’ll end one way or the other. And your gas and your gasoline and all the other things. And don’t forget, we also took on a country named as Venezuela. They never talk about Venezuela. We are taking in hundreds of millions of barrels of oil. We are pouring oil into this country like nobody’s ever seen before."