California Orders Threat Monitoring After Trump's LA, San Diego Remark as White House Defends 2-City Comment
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Oct 6
California Orders Threat Monitoring After Trump's LA, San Diego Remark as White House Defends 2-City Comment
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Oct 6
Summary
California's State Threat Assessment Center was ordered to monitor risks after Gavin Newsom said Trump's remark about Iran "taking out" Los Angeles and San Diego could be read by foreign actors as an invitation.
Trump made the comment at a Nebraska rally, calling it a "small price to pay" for safety; the White House said he meant those cities would have been at risk had he not attacked Iran earlier this year.
Stephen Cheung and the White House rapid-response account rejected the backlash, saying Iran had been stopped from gaining the ability to strike LA and San Diego with a nuclear weapon.
Karen Bass called the remarks threats against American lives, and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said the city was not collateral damage in Trump's "reckless war talk."
The clash deepens Trump's long-running feud with Newsom, a potential 2028 contender, and centers attention on two California cities that host major military bases.