Trump: Letting Iran destroy Los Angeles and San Diego is a 'very small price to pay'

Trump Suggests Letting Iran "Take Out" Los Angeles and San Diego

At a rally in Nebraska Tuesday night, President Trump told his supporters that rising prices due to his Iran war and tariff policies were "just a little bit high. It's a small price to pay for keeping the world safe—keeping our country safe."

"They can take out a city. Let them take, let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay," Trump said. "And it's going to be over with very soon. It's essentially almost over with."

Conservative activists have argued that Trump was referring to high gas prices, not the loss of the two cities. Under that interpretation, Trump was arguing that his war—which has killed scores of civilians in the Middle East and an estimated 23 U.S. soldiers—is preventing Iran from waging large-scale attacks on American cities. However, Iran's targets during the war have been U.S. installations in the Middle East, and it was not targeting American cities before the war.

California leaders took his words at face value.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass blasted Trump's remarks as "irresponsible," saying they "could potentially compromise" the city's safety.

"The role of a president is to protect the country, not to actively threaten it and encourage attacks on American lives," Bass said in a statement.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria concurred, saying his city was "not collateral damage."

"We are not expendable. And we are never a 'small price to pay,'" Gloria wrote in a post on X. "Keep our city out of your reckless war talk."

California's Democratic nominee for governor, Xavier Becerra, also criticized the president's speech.

"Thirteen million Californians call LA and San Diego counties home," Becerra said. "Their lives are not a 'small price to pay' or a punchline for Donald Trump."

Meanwhile, gas prices continue to rise due to Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz and Houthi militia control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea. As of Tuesday morning, the average price of gas nationwide is $4.37 per gallon, while diesel fuel is $6.32 per gallon.

Trump's claims that the war is almost over belie the fact that talks are stalled. The president rejected Iran's peace proposal at the U.N. General Assembly last month, and mediators have made little headway. The conflict has escalated in recent days as Houthis have attacked Saudi airports, with Saudi Arabia bombing Yemeni targets in response. The midterms are less than one month away.

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Trump Has Petty Meltdown Over Report of Low Rally Attendance

President Donald Trump had a meltdown on social media Monday after news outlets reported on light attendance at his weekend rally in Ohio.

Trump held a rally at a 4,500-person-capacity high school gymnasium in Vandalia, Ohio, on Saturday. By the time he finished speaking, several areas of an upper deck had completely emptied out, The New York Times reported.

Multiple photographs confirmed empty seats in the upper sections. In a series of lengthy posts on Truth Social Monday, Trump claimed the reporting was false and called for the news outlets to be arrested.

"The Ohio Arena was already full to the brim—And yet these people were still trying to get in," Trump wrote, including a 30-second clip of a line of people waiting in the parking lot. It is not clear that these people were not admitted.

Trump claimed there were no empty seats and that "thousands of people had to be turned away."

"The New York Times, and many other Artificial Media Outlets, should be arrested for their dishonesty and disservice to our Country," Trump wrote. "When Bernie Sanders has 500 to 1,000 people, they make it sound like it's the biggest event that ever took place. When PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP has 50,000 people, they make it sound like nobody showed up!"

In another post, Trump insisted the "arena" was "totally MAXED OUT." (It was a high school gymnasium.)

Trump then attempted to spin the empty seats. "What does happen at all of my SOLD OUT Rallies, is that the people in the upper sections tend to migrate down to the Main Floor—The 'migration' process always happens! The Times knows this, and so does everyone else. I never have empty seats—Never have, and never will!"

"In actuality, my Events for very good Republican Politicians are probably more crowded than ever. There are no empty seats, there haven't been for years, and there never will be. The Rallies are 'HOTTER' than ever," he wrote.

The Times wrote that Trump's dismal turnout in Ohio was part of a wider trend of waning enthusiasm, with rallies feeling "more like a farewell tour."

Trump even took aim at Fox & Friends on Sunday for not covering the event.

Read more: Trump Is Still Banning News Outlets From Air Force One

Trump's Response to Suspected Plague Outbreak in Russia Raises Concerns

President Trump's reaction to the death of a lab worker in Russia due to a suspected plague is not reassuring.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Trump was asked if he was concerned and attempted to explain the U.S. government's response, referring to what he called "the pneumonia plague."

"Well, I hate to see them having it, it's a rough, it's a rough disease, you know that's a disease that we used to be able to control, but somehow those microbes have gotten stronger and smarter, they're like an army. And we don't have the same medical," Trump said. "Even with great advancement, the germs have really become relatively stronger than they were, and things that used to work on pneumonia don't work as well anymore, so, uh, but we'll help. Anybody that has that kind of a problem, we're always willing to help, we'll help."

Trump's word salad evokes memories of his disastrous response to the Covid-19 pandemic during his first term. It appears the president was briefed on the suspected outbreak in Russia—which has led to a quarantine in the Siberian region of Irkutsk—but did not understand what he was told.

Unexplained pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China also preceded news of the Covid-19 outbreak. That pandemic left about 2.05 million people worldwide dead from confirmed cases, with the U.S. accounting for 400,000 of those deaths—close to 20 percent of the total.

Trump's claim that the U.S. is "always willing to help" belies the fact that his administration has cut funding to Ebola response in Africa, which has exacerbated the spread of the disease on the continent.

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Democrats Vow to Block Trump Supreme Court Nominees if They Win Senate

The Democratic Party will refuse to approve any of President Trump's Supreme Court nominations if it takes back control of the Senate, drawing perhaps the strongest line in the sand against the White House to date.

"The bottom line is: One of the reasons we want to do everything we can to take back the Senate is to not let Trump put such horrible justices—MAGA justices—on the Supreme Court and the lower courts," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told NBC News in a Monday report.

Other Democrats echoed the sentiment.

"No, we've got to do exactly what McConnell did to us," said Senator Ruben Gallego, referring to Mitch McConnell's 10-month obstruction of President Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland, which led to Justice Neil Gorsuch's appointment. "I don't think, you know, you want to go down that road.… But clearly, you know, McConnell and Trump used ... their power, whatever you want to call it, to change the makeup of the courts. And I think we have to start moving it back."

"Well, given the history of Trump nominees, I think it is slim to none that we would support a nominee from this administration," said Senator and senior Judiciary Committee member Richard Blumenthal. "Because we've seen this movie, we know how it ends, which is a politician in robes who is following Trump's orders on most major questions."

This report comes a day after conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito told CBS News he was considering retirement, saying it was "something I think that somebody at my age has to think about every term." Alito is 76 years old, and fellow conservative Justice Clarence Thomas is 78, leading both sides to consider their replacements.

"A major reason why I'm running to serve South Carolina and why it's so important to keep the Senate conservative this November. Should Justice Alito choose to retire next year, a Republican-majority Senate will be needed to vote and hopefully confirm a Supreme Court nominee from President Trump," Senator Darline Graham wrote on X last Friday. "If Democrats control the..."

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