California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass condemn the comments as deranged and dangerous, with Newsom directing state threat assessment resources to monitor any foreign interpretation as an invitation.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have sharply criticized President Donald Trump after remarks at a Nebraska rally in which he said Iran could “take out” Los Angeles or San Diego.

Trump made the comments while discussing the war with Iran and rising gas prices, saying the costs were a “small price to pay for keeping the world safe.” He then said Iran could “take out a city,” before specifically naming Los Angeles and San Diego. 

Newsom responded by calling Trump’s remarks “dangerous” and “deranged,” arguing that the comments could be interpreted by foreign actors as an invitation to target California.

“I am directing the State Threat Assessment Center to actively monitor the situation in the event that foreign actors interpret the President’s remarks as an invitation to target California,” Newsom said in an October 6 statement. 

Bass also condemned the president’s comments, saying they could compromise the safety of Los Angeles. She argued that the president’s responsibility is to protect American cities rather than make statements that could be interpreted as encouraging attacks against them. 

The White House, however, has rejected the interpretation that Trump was advocating an attack on the two California cities. Communications Director Steven Cheung said Trump was explaining that the United States was fighting to prevent Iran from developing the capability to threaten cities such as Los Angeles and San Diego with nuclear weapons. 

FactCheck.org similarly concluded that, when Trump’s comments are considered alongside the broader context of his remarks about Iran and nuclear weapons, a more plausible interpretation is that he was arguing that the United States was preventing such a threat rather than encouraging an attack. The organization nevertheless described Trump’s wording as confusing. 

The controversy has nevertheless intensified political tensions between the White House and California officials, with the safety of major California cities becoming a central point of disagreement over Trump’s comments and their intended meaning.