President Donald Trump has doubled down on his bonkers threat towards two Democrat-led U.S. cities.
Trump, 80, spoke at a rally in San Antonio, Texas, on Wednesday in an attempt to convince MAGA voters to support embattled Senate candidate Ken Paxton. Democrat and regular Trump foe James Talarico is leading Paxton by 6 points, according to a New York Times/Siena University poll, conducted Sept. 21-30.
During his rambling speech, Trump repeated a wild claim he originally made earlier this week at a rally in Nebraska.
On Monday, the president had discussed his war on Iran creating higher gas prices. “It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe,” Trump said.
Then, he added, “They can take out a city—let ’em take, let ’em take out Los Angeles, let ’em take out San Diego. That’s—this is a very small price to pay,” he said, naming the two blue cities in California.
Trump covered similar ground on Wednesday, again talking about oil prices rising after his war. Oil is currently $4.36 per gallon, according to AAA Fuel Prices.
The president said the prices are “a little more, maybe more than a little,” and claimed Americans are currently “paying less than under the Biden administration.”
He then stated, “You want to see trauma? You want to see problems?”
“And I said it the other day, let them hit a missile into San Diego or Los Angeles on the way. Let them hit... you want to see a horror show? You want to see problems? Let them hit San Diego. Let them hit Los Angeles, and you want to see some bad things happen, you want to see a country that would be in freefall.”
The president added a disclaimer on Wednesday, noting, “We’re not gonna let that happen. We protect our cities, we protect our country. We’re not letting that happen.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Press Office account shared footage of Trump’s comments from Wednesday, adding the NSFW caption, “Shut the f--- up (please).”
Newsom responded to Trump’s Monday comments on X, calling him “deranged and dangerous.”
His Press Office X account made a separate post later, stating, “Let’s be clear: The President is advocating for an attack on 10+ million U.S. residents in two of America’s largest cities. This is not normal. None of this is.”
Trump deflected questions from journalists who asked him to explain his initial comments on Monday.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung melted down in an X post on Monday. “The media freakout over President Trump’s comments is not rooted in reality. He was clearly stating U.S. cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn’t been stopped. America is safer because of the President. Iran has no nuclear, no navy, no air force, and no money.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass slammed Trump on Tuesday’s Anderson Cooper 360°, saying she was “horrified” by his remarks. She also slammed Cheung’s response.
“I mean, I heard what I heard, and so did the rest of the world. What does that say about the United States on the world stage, that the president would say, ‘If you want to take out the nation’s second-largest city, have at it,’” Bass told Cooper on CNN.
“I understand that that press deputy wanted to paint it that way, as though we did not hear what we heard. But I’m sorry to say that it is on tape, and the entire world heard it.”
