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Trump Says US Will Protect LA and San Diego From Iran · Stories Today

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: President Donald Trump has sought to calm the political storm
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: created by his let them take out Los Angeles, remark,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: saying the United States will not allow Iran to strike
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  Speaker 1: American cities. His clarification came after California leaders accused him
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: of treating Los Angeles and San Diego as expendable in
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: the conflict with Iran. Key takeaways. Trump clarified that the U.S.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: will not allow Iran to strike Los Angeles or San Diego.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: His original Nebraska rally comment said Iran could take out
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: the two cities and called it a small price to pay.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: The White House says Trump was warning about the threat
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  Speaker 1: from a nuclear Iran, not inviting an attack. California Governor
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  Speaker 1: Gavin Newsom and the mayors of Los Angeles and San
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  Speaker 1: Diego strongly condemned the remarks. Trump also argued that higher
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: oil prices are a temporary cost of preventing Iran from
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  Speaker 1: obtaining nuclear weapons. What Trump said now. Speaking at a
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  Speaker 1: rally in Texas on Wednesday, Trump returned to the controversy
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  Speaker 1: while discussing the economic impact of the Iran war. He
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: said the country would face trauma if Iran were able
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  Speaker 1: to launch a missile at San Diego or Los Angeles,
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: but immediately. added, We're not going to let that happen.
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  Speaker 1: We protect our cities, we protect our country. Trump framed
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  Speaker 1: the remark as a warning about what could happen if
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  Speaker 1: Iran acquired nuclear weapons, rather than an endorsement of an
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  Speaker 1: attack on US soil. He said his administration was working
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: to ensure that Iran would never have a nuclear weapon,
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  Speaker 1: while arguing that a temporary rise in oil prices was
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  Speaker 1: a smaller cost than allowing Tehran to gain that capability.
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: The president also repeated his claim that the United States
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: would soon be out of there and that oil prices
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  Speaker 1: would come down like a rock. He presented the war's
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: economic burden as temporary, even as Critics continued to question
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: the human and strategic risks of the conflict. The original comment.
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: The controversy began on Monday night at a rally in Nebraska.
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: While defending the cost of the Iran war, Trump said
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: fuel price increases were, just artificial, and, a little bit, high,
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  Speaker 1: before shifting to the possibility of an Iranian attack. They
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  Speaker 1: can take out a city. Trump told the crowd, let
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego.
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: He then described the potential loss as, a very small
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: price to pay, in the broader effort to keep the
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: country safe. The wording immediately drew attention because it appeared
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  Speaker 1: to suggest that an Iranian strike on two major American
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  Speaker 1: cities could be acceptable. Supporters and the White House argued
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  Speaker 1: that Trump was describing the danger posed by a nuclear Iran.
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: Critics said the language was reckless and could be interpreted
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  Speaker 1: as inviting an attack. Why the remark matters. Los Angeles
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  Speaker 1: and San Diego are not ordinary political examples. Los Angeles
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  Speaker 1: is the second largest city in the United States. while
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: San Diego is home to major military installations and serves
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: as a critical naval hub on the Pacific coast. That
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  Speaker 1: is why California officials reacted so strongly to the president's words.
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: A missile strike or any large-scale attack on either city
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  Speaker 1: would carry enormous civilian, economic and military consequences. The concern
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: was not only the literal wording, but the message. It
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: could send to foreign governments, extremist groups and Americans already
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: anxious about the war. Trump's clarification attempts to remove that ambiguity. Still,
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  Speaker 1: the episode shows how a president's language during a war
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  Speaker 1: can become a major political issue when it involves U.S. cities,
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  Speaker 1: civilian safety and the possibility of foreign retaliation. White House defense. White.
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  Speaker 1: House Communications Director Stephen Chung rejected claims that Trump wanted
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  Speaker 1: Iran to attack California. He said the president was clearly
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: stating U.S. cities would have been threatened if a nuclear
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  Speaker 1: Iran hadn't been stopped, adding that America is safer because
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  Speaker 1: of the president. Chung also said the media reaction was
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: not rooted in reality and argued that Iran had no nuclear,
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  Speaker 1: no navy, no air force, and no money. The White
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: House position is that Trump was making a case for
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  Speaker 1: preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear power, not proposing that
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  Speaker 1: American cities be sacrificed. That explanation may satisfy Trump's supporters,
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: but it has not. ended the criticism. The central issue
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  Speaker 1: is that the president used extreme language about American cities
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  Speaker 1: during a live political rally, leaving room for different interpretations.
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  Speaker 1: California's response California Governor Gavin Newsom was among the first
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  Speaker 1: and sharpest critics. He said Trump was suggesting that foreign
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  Speaker 1: enemies should take out Los Angeles and San Diego, calling
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: the president, deranged and dangerous. In a later post, Newsom
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: described the remarks as dangerous, if not treasonous, and said
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  Speaker 1: they put a target on two of California's biggest cities
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  Speaker 1: and one of America's largest naval hubs. He said he
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: had directed the state threat assessment center to monitor the
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  Speaker 1: situation in case foreign actors interpreted Trump's comments as an
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  Speaker 1: invitation to target California. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: condemned the remarks. She said Trump had suggested that a
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  Speaker 1: foreign government attack Los Angeles and argued that a president's
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  Speaker 1: role is to protect the country, not encourage attacks on
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  Speaker 1: American lives. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria pushed back in
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  Speaker 1: equally direct terms. San Diego is not collateral damage, he wrote,
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  Speaker 1: We are not expendable. And we are never a small
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: price to pay. Trump's oil price argument. Trump's clarification also
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: focused on gasoline prices, an issue that has become central
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  Speaker 1: to the political debate over the Iran war. He argued
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  Speaker 1: that Americans may need to pay a little more for
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  Speaker 1: oil in the short term to prevent Iran from obtaining
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: nuclear weapons. His Message was straightforward. The war may create
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: short-term economic pain, but allowing a nuclear Iran would create
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  Speaker 1: far greater danger. He suggested that the alternative, an Iran
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: capable of threatening US cities, would leave the country in freefall.
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  Speaker 1: That argument is likely to resonate with voters who see
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: the conflict as a necessary security measure. But it may
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: not satisfy Households dealing with higher fuel costs, especially if
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: the war continues longer than the president expects. Political fallout.
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: The controversy has become another flashpoint between Trump and Democratic
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: leaders in California. Newsom's response turned a rally comment into
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: a statewide security and political issue, while the mayors of
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: Los Angeles and San Diego made clear that their Cities
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  Speaker 1: would not accept being used as rhetorical examples. For Trump,
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  Speaker 1: the episode highlights a familiar pattern. A provocative remark draws
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: intense criticism. His team says the comment was misunderstood, and
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  Speaker 1: the president later offers a clarification that partially walks back
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  Speaker 1: the sharpest interpretation. In this case, his statement that the
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: US will not let that happen is a clear effort
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  Speaker 1: to reassure Americans that no US city will be left exposed.
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  Speaker 1: The political risk remains, however. Voters may accept the argument
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  Speaker 1: that Iran must be stopped from obtaining nuclear weapons, while
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: still objecting to language that appears to minimize the value
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: of American lives in Los Angeles and San Diego. What
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: happens next? The immediate question is whether Trump's clarification will
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: reduce the backlash or simply keep the story alive. California
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  Speaker 1: officials have already raised concerns about foreign actors misreading the
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  Speaker 1: president's words and the state. Threat assessment centers monitoring order
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  Speaker 1: signals that the state is treating the matter seriously. The
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: larger issue is the Iran war itself. Trump continues to
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  Speaker 1: argue that preventing air nuclear Iran justifies the conflict and
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  Speaker 1: its economic costs, while opponents question both the strategy and
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: the president's language about potential attacks. on US soil. For now,
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: Trump's message is clear. He says the United States will
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  Speaker 1: protect Los Angeles, San Diego and every other American city.
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  Speaker 1: Whether that reassurance repairs the damage from his earlier comments
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  Speaker 1: will depend on How voters, California leaders and international observers
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  Speaker 1: interpret both his words and his administration's actions.