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Trump’s California quip blows up

18 0
06.10.2026

Trump’s California quip blows up

It’s Tuesday. Looking for something good to watch tonight? There are plenty of midterm debates to tune into. We’ll fill you in.  

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Programming note: We’re Joshua Feldstein and Claire Leibowitz, filling in for Cate today. Please send your tips, comments and story ideas to jfeldstein@thehill.com or cleibowitz@thehill.com. 

🌉 IN THE WHITE HOUSE 

Trump’s LA, San Diego comments trigger Golden State rage:

The Associated Press | Charlie Riedel and Jae C. Hong

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) called President Trump “deranged and dangerous” following his comments on Monday that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego.

“It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, for keeping our country safe,” Trump said at a Monday rally in Grand Island, Neb. “Let ’em take out Los Angeles, let ’em take out San Diego.”

“After sending the National Guard to occupy California, Donald Trump is now saying our foreign enemies should ‘take out’ Los Angeles and San Diego,” Newsom wrote on social media. “He is deranged and dangerous.”

The White House pushed back on California officials’ response to Trump’s comments, with communications director Steven Cheung saying, “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,” Cheung wrote on social media.

Encouraging attacks: Newsom and other California politicians believe the president was encouraging violence on their state.

“At least 19 servicemembers have made the ultimate sacrifice in Trump’s unauthorized war with Iran — including Noah Tietjens of Nebraska,” Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) wrote on the social platform X about Trump’s comments in Nebraska.

“Now Trump is in Nebraska inviting an attack on U.S. soil, putting millions of Americans and hundreds of thousands of our servicemembers at risk while trying to get Americans to cheer for an attack on our own country,” Padilla continued. “What kind of Commander in Chief does that?”

Los Angeles’s Mayor Karen Bass (D) wrote on the social platform X that Trump’s comments “are dangerous and could potentially compromise our safety.”

“The role of the president is to protect the country, not actively threaten it and encourage attacks on American lives,” Bass continued.

San Diego’s mayor Todd Gloria (D) also told the president to “keep our city out of your reckless war talk,” in a social media post.

FBI warned California in February: Multiple outlets reported on March 11 that the FBI warned California police departments of potential retaliatory Iranian attacks on........

© The Hill