Trump says Iran could ‘take out’ Los Angeles or San Diego, drawing backlash

Read the original at South China Morning Post ↗
South China Morning Post · collected 2026-10-06 · by Reuters

Quick Summary

At a political rally in Nebraska, President Donald Trump told supporters that Iran could potentially attack major US cities like Los Angeles or San Diego, suggesting such an event would be “a very small price to pay” for keeping the country safe. This comment drew criticism from California’s Democratic leaders and some Republicans who found his remarks alarming and irresponsible.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-06, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

At a campaign rally in Nebraska, President Trump suggested allowing Iran to "take out" Los Angeles and San Diego, drawing widespread condemnation from California officials. The mayors of both cities criticized Trump's comments as threatening American lives; L.A.'s Mayor Karen Bass wrote that the president’s role is to protect the country, not encourage attacks on it. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria echoed this sentiment, stating his city was "not expendable." Governor Gavin Newsom called Trump’s remarks “deranged and dangerous,” highlighting the impact of such rhetoric on national security and public safety. Both cities are home to significant military installations critical to U.S. defense operations.

Written for “Trump Iran California Comments” on 2026-10-06, grounded in this article and the 12 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans left (beta estimate) Confidence medium
Leaning: leans left for article 60667 (medium confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-10-06

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
7
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
43%
3 of 7 hedged
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Correction & hedging signals
66.7
corrections and hedging in what we collected; not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
13
Politics
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
Analyzed 2026-10-06 · how these are computed

Story

📰 Trump Iran California Comments
Politics · 13 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 43% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Californians blast Trump remark that Iran could 'take out' Los Angeles, San Diego same event · 100%
The Straits Times · 0.97 cosine similarity
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 13% hedged 4 of 30 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles describe President Trump's remarks at a political rally in Nebraska about Iran 'taking out' Los Angeles or San Diego, which drew backlash from California leaders.”
Trump suggests he would let Iran ‘take out’ Los Angeles or San Diego same event · 100%
The Guardian · 0.93 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 11% hedged 3 of 27 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles report on Trump's comments at a rally in Nebraska about Iran 'taking out' Los Angeles or San Diego, occurring on the same date.”
Trump sparks outrage for suggesting that Iran could ‘take out’ Los Angeles and San Diego same event · 100%
Washington Examiner · 0.93 cosine similarity
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 18% hedged 4 of 22 📰 publisher trust 72
“Both articles describe President Trump making remarks at a Republican rally in Nebraska on the same day, suggesting Iran could 'take out' Los Angeles and San Diego.”
California officials condemn Trump for saying Iran could ‘take out’ Los Angeles or San Diego same event · 100%
NBC News · 0.92 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 15% hedged 4 of 27 📰 publisher trust 95
“Both articles describe President Trump's remarks at a campaign rally in Nebraska about Iran being able to 'take out' Los Angeles or San Diego, occurring on the same day.”
Trump suggests letting Iran "take out" L.A., San Diego during rally same event · 100%
CBS News · 0.89 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 11% hedged 1 of 9 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles describe President Trump suggesting Iran could 'take out' Los Angeles or San Diego during a campaign rally in Nebraska on the same date.”
Trump ponders whether Iran should 'take out Los Angeles' while defending higher gas prices and war with Iran same event · 100%
Daily Mail · 0.89 cosine similarity
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this 🔴 10% hedged 4 of 39 📰 publisher trust 65
“Both articles describe Trump making the same joke about Iran 'taking out' Los Angeles or San Diego at a rally in Nebraska on Monday.”
California leaders hit back after Trump says Iran can 'take out' LA and San Diego same event · 100%
BBC News · 0.86 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 8% hedged 1 of 13 📰 publisher trust 72
“Both articles report President Trump's comments during a rally in Nebraska about Iran potentially attacking Los Angeles or San Diego, and the subsequent backlash from California leaders.”
Trump jokes about letting Iran bomb Los Angeles and San Diego same event · 100%
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 3 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles describe Trump's comments at a campaign rally in Nebraska on October 6, 2026, regarding Iran potentially targeting Los Angeles or San Diego and the subsequent backlash.”
‘Let ’em take out’ Los Angeles and San Diego, Trump says of Iran same event · 100%
Global News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 33% hedged 4 of 12 📰 publisher trust 64
“Both articles describe Trump's exact statement about Iran 'taking out' Los Angeles or San Diego during the same rally in Nebraska on the same date.”
Newsom blasts ‘deranged and dangerous’ Trump for joking that Iran could ‘take out’ LA and San Diego same event · 100%
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 28 📰 publisher trust 64
“Both articles describe President Trump's remarks at a rally in Nebraska about Iran's potential threat to US cities like Los Angeles and San Diego, made on the same date.”

Publisher

South China Morning Post · 1737 article(s) · 4 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 4 correction(s)
2026-10-04
Flight to Okinawa diverts back to Hong Kong after suspected landing gear fault
2026-10-04
Tennessee prisons chief resigning after botched execution of Christa Pike
2026-09-29
Indonesian prison chief suspended over secret VIP compound for inmates
2026-09-28
Trump ‘arms offer’ to China jolts Washington into moves to contain the fallout

Who wrote this

Reuters
461 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Trump says Iran could ‘take out’ Los Angeles or San Diego, drawing backlash The US president said this would be a ‘very small price to pay’, as he insisted that the war with Iran was almost over
2026-10-06 · mixed framing · Trump says Iran could ‘take out’ Los Angeles or San Diego, drawing backlash
🔮 The High School Students Union said more than half of France’s high schools were blockaded or would close for the day.
2026-10-06 · assertive framing · Police fire tear gas as students, parents, teachers march in France’s largest day of protests
🔮 “If this war is not brought to an end in time, it will continue to expand its geographical scope and increase the risk of even a global conflict,” he said.
2026-10-06 · assertive framing · Merchant ship crew missing after drone sinks vessel in Bulgaria’s Black Sea
🔮 Anthropic is preparing for an IPO as early as this fall that could value it at more than $2 trillion, according to its IPO prospectus seen by Reuters.
2026-10-06 · mixed framing · Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei made $18M last year: IPO filing
🔮 Lecornu also said that the governments will look into repairing old campuses, as he demanded ministers send in proposals by the end of October.
2026-10-06 · assertive framing · Demonstrators clash with riot police in France as education protests mount
🔮 The High School Students Union said 1,800 high schools were blockaded or would close for the day.
2026-10-06 · assertive framing · Students, teachers march in France on biggest day of school protests
🔮 Prosecutors said he defrauded followers of $158m by selling promises of lifetime annual vacations that he could not provide.
2026-10-06 · assertive framing · US televangelist Jim Bakker, ensnared in fraud and sex scandal, dead at 86
🔮 US President Donald Trump on Monday at the White House told reporters that the United States will help Russia after a laboratory worker died at a plague research institute in Siberia.
2026-10-06 · assertive framing · Trump offers to help Russia after Siberia plague institute death
🔮 We will take care of it,” the court said at the hearing, after the petitioners alleged bias by the poll body.
2026-10-06 · assertive framing · Indian opposition marches in protest seeking resignation of election chief
🔮 The order will likely direct the Department of Transportation to coordinate with states to waive taxes on road diesel.
2026-10-06 · assertive framing · Trump signs executive order to allow tax-free diesel in effort to lower gas prices just weeks before midterm elections
Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.
Also by Reuters
Ukraine blames Russian drones for deadly ship fire in the Black Sea
2026-10-06 · New York Post
Police fire tear gas as students, parents, teachers march in France’s largest day of protests
2026-10-06 · New York Post
Merchant ship crew missing after drone sinks vessel in Bulgaria’s Black Sea
2026-10-06 · New York Post
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei made $18M last year: IPO filing
2026-10-06 · New York Post
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 461 articles by Reuters →

Topics

California Iran Los Angeles Nebraska San Diego

Subjects

Iran GPE · 3× Los Angeles GPE · 3× San Diego GPE · 3× Nebraska GPE · 2× Trump PERSON · 2× American NORP · 1× California GPE · 1× Democratic NORP · 1× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Republicans NORP · 1×

Narrative

“And again, remember, with the war, it’s just artificial, it’s a little bit high, it’s a small price to pay,” he told the crowd in Grand Island, Nebraska, apparently referring to rising prices of fuel, fertiliser and other products attributed to energy market disruptions from the war. “It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, for keeping our country safe.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-06
🔮 Trump says Iran could ‘take out’ Los Angeles or San Diego, drawing backlash The US president said this would be a ‘very small price to pay’, as he insisted that the war with Iran was almost over
2026-10-06 · South China Morning Post
Trump says Iran could ‘take out’ Los Angeles or San Diego, drawing backlash · mixed framing

Claims (7 extracted, 3 hedged)

Trump says Iran could ‘take out’ Los Angeles or San Diego, drawing backlash The US president said this would be a ‘very small price to pay’, as he insisted that the war with Iran was almost over uncertain
war → say → Iran
President Donald Trump suggested to a crowd of his supporters in Nebraska that Iran could “take out” a major US city like Los Angeles or San Diego, drawing a swift rebuke from California’s Democratic leaders and some fellow Republicans. uncertain
Iran → suggest → leaders
Trump, speaking at a political rally in the state’s farm belt on Monday, discussed American wartime economic sacrifices and said he was determined to “see a tremendous victory, because it verifies all the things we did”. asserted
we → speak → things
“And again, remember, with the war, it’s just artificial, it’s a little bit high, it’s a small price to pay,” he told the crowd in Grand Island, Nebraska, apparently referring to rising prices of fuel, fertiliser and other products attributed to energy market disruptions from the war. “It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, for keeping our country safe. asserted
It → remember → country
They could take out a city. uncertain
They → take → city
Let ’em take out Los Angeles, let ’em take out San Diego. asserted
’em → let → Diego
This is a very small price to pay, and it’s going to be over with very soon,” he said. asserted
he → pay → ?
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support
Terms · Privacy · beta v2.0.0
Articles to 6 Oct 2026