Trump remark on Iran and California cities draws backlash and White House defense

President Donald Trump drew bipartisan criticism after remarks he made at a rally in Nebraska in which he referenced Iran's ability to strike Los Angeles and San Diego, according to multiple outlets. Outlets including The Guardian, Al Jazeera English and CNA quoted Trump as saying "They can take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego," with several outlets, including the New York Post, reporting that Trump called this a "very small price to pay" in the context of discussing gas prices and the potential cost of Iran developing nuclear weapons.

California Governor Gavin Newsom was among the most vocal critics, calling Trump's comments "dangerous, if not treasonous," according to The Guardian, and accusing him of "putting a target on two of our biggest cities and one of America's largest naval hubs." CNA and The Japan Times reported Newsom also called Trump "deranged and dangerous," while The Hill reported Newsom told the outlet Trump is "mentally ill" and called for invoking the 25th Amendment, a call echoed by The Daily Beast. HuffPost reported that California said it would "actively monitor" possible threats following the remarks.

The White House defended Trump's comments, according to CBS News, Newsmax, Breitbart and Salon, though the specific content of that defense was not detailed uniformly across sources. The Straits Times and the New York Post reported that Trump was using the remark to argue that a temporary spike in gas prices was a small price to pay compared with the cost of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons and attacking an American city, framing his comments as a hypothetical rather than an endorsement.

Musician Jack White criticized Trump in response, calling him "the worst American of all time," as reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Variety and Billboard. White's statement, quoted by The Hollywood Reporter, referred to a "U.S. 'President' that recommended that two major cities in our country be bombed because they don't give total allegiance to his ego." Television host Jimmy Kimmel also responded on air, with Rolling Stone and The New York Times reporting he called the remark "one of the craziest, indefensible statements" he had heard and said he would "report him to the F.C.C."

Business Insider reported that nuclear proliferation watchers said Iran does not have the capability to strike California, according to the outlet's sourcing. Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine, in an unrelated debate reported by The Guardian, distanced herself from Trump but did not directly address the Iran remarks in the material provided.

How the coverage differed

Left-leaning outlets gave the story the most extensive and varied coverage, with multiple outlets including The Guardian, HuffPost, The Daily Beast and CNN emphasizing Newsom's reaction, calls for the 25th Amendment, and California's decision to monitor threats. Several left-leaning entertainment outlets, including The Hollywood Reporter, Variety and Rolling Stone, focused heavily on celebrity reactions from Jack White and Jimmy Kimmel, giving these responses prominent, dedicated coverage not matched on the right.

Right-leaning outlets, including the New York Post, Townhall and Breitbart, framed the story around disputing the media's characterization of Trump's remarks, arguing he was making a point about gas prices and nuclear risk rather than suggesting an attack. These outlets emphasized the White House's defense and pushed back on what they described as media distortion of Trump's statement, a framing largely absent from left-leaning coverage.

Center outlets, including CNA, The Japan Times, South China Morning Post and The Straits Times, reported both the backlash from Newsom and California residents alongside the White House's denial and the gas-price context, generally presenting both sides' framing within single articles rather than emphasizing one over the other.

Sources disagree on how to characterize Trump's intent: left-leaning and some center outlets reported the remarks largely as a suggestion that Iran could attack the cities, while right-leaning outlets and the White House described it as a hypothetical illustrating the cost of inaction against Iran's nuclear program.