Donald Trump’s extraordinary implication that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego have sparked condemnation across the political spectrum. As residents of the two major west coast cities awoke on Tuesday to another sweltering day in a record-breaking heatwave, the president’s comments sent blood boiling even higher. Jessica, a 28-year-old Los Angeles hair stylist, was scrolling through social media early on Tuesday morning and was shocked to see that Trump had just suggested Iran should decimate her home town.
For Jessica, who declined to be identified by her full name because she fears for the safety of her Mexican-born parents, the comments marked a new low for a president who had already spent years attacking immigrant families like hers. He hates any Democratic state ... It’s just a really sad situation.” In southern California, Trump’s unprecedented musing before a cheering crowd at a Nebraska rally on Monday night – that perhaps a foreign power should decimate two of the country’s best-known cities – has been met with reactions ranging from deep hostility to dismissive incredulity.
Gavin Newsom, the state’s governor, called the remarks “dangerous – if not treasonous – putting a target on two of our biggest cities and one of America’s largest naval hubs”. Perhaps most of all, California residents see it as a sign of the president’s fixation on tearing down west coast progressivism and diversity, most visibly through the deployment of national guard troops in Los Angeles during a series of brutal ICE raids in 2025. During a bustling lunch service at Grand Central Market, a food hall in downtown LA, tourists and residents milled between taco stands and dumpling stalls.
Many had yet to hear of the president’s threats, until asked by a reporter. One of those who had was Jens Midthun, a downtown resident who often stops at the market for coffee. Defense spending accounts for 22% of San Diego’s gross regional product and the area is home to multiple naval bases and Marine Corps stations, with one out of four active-duty marines based in San Diego.
He did San Diego a disservice.” Jim Desmond, a Republican naval veteran running for a congressional seat in San Diego, also offered a pointed rebuke. Our job is to keep Americans safe, stand up to our enemies, and make sure a threat like that never becomes reality,” Desmond said on X. He should work on those issues instead of obsessing over the beautiful, great people of Los Angeles.”
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