Grand Island, Nebraska -- Ocotber 6, 2026 : In modern American political commentary, few words are more routinely exhausted than unprecedented. Policy shifts, sharp campaign insults, and unconventional press conferences are routinely branded with the term until it loses its weight.
Yet on Monday evening, speaking before a crowd in Grand Island, Nebraska, Donald Trump delivered a line that defied hyperbole. In this specific case, the literal definition applies: in the long history of the American presidency, there is simply no precedent for it.
Addressing the rising economic toll of the conflict involving Iran—including higher fuel, fertilizer and commodity prices—Trump sought to downplay the pocketbook pain. by placing it alongside the existential stakes of warfare.
"And again, remember, with the war, it's just artificial, it's a little bit high, it's a small price to pay," he said. "It's a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, for keeping our country safe. They could take out a city. Let 'em take out Los Angeles, let 'em take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay, and it's going to be over with very soon."
The Governor’s Verdict: “Deranged and Dangerous”
The response from Sacramento was immediate and blisteringly direct. California Governor Gavin Newsom did not treat the remarks as mere campaign hyperbole, but as a direct verbal assault on more than ten million American citizens.
Newsom took to X to issue a searing rebuke:
“After sending the National Guard and Marines to occupy California, Donald Trump is now saying our foreign enemies should 'take out' Los Angeles and San Diego. He is deranged and dangerous.”
In an additional statement released through his official press office, Newsom sharpened the indictment:
“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. And we will continue to remind folks of that every day.”
The specific geographic targets named carry immense national security implications that extend far beyond municipal boundaries:
Los Angeles: Beyond standing as the nation's second-most populous city with nearly four million residents, Los Angeles serves as a cornerstone of U.S. defense infrastructure. It hosts the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command Headquarters at Los Angeles Air Force Base, major aerospace and defense powerhouses including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman, and vital national security research hubs like the RAND Corporation.
San Diego: Operating as the primary homeport and Pacific anchor for the U.S. Navy, the region houses Naval Base San Diego, Naval Air Station North Island, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, and dozens of supporting defense commands—concentrating tens of thousands of active-duty service members, ballistic defense assets, and critical Pacific Fleet operations.
The reaction from California leadership was swift and drew bipartisan support.:
Governor Gavin Newsom labeled the remarks "deranged and dangerous," emphasizing that no American president should ever casually muse about foreign strikes on domestic soil.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass stressed that ‘the role of a president is to protect the country, not to actively threaten it.’
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria issued a sharp rebuke: “San Diego is not collateral damage. We are not expendable. And we are never a ‘small price to pay.’ Keep our city out of your reckless war talk.”
San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, a prominent local Republican running for Congress, publicly broke ranks to state he "vehemently" disagreed with the remarks, making clear that Southern California communities and military personnel are never an acceptable sacrifice.
Two Realities, One Sentence
The White House worked to contain the fallout, with Communications Director Steven Cheung stating: "He was saying the U.S. is fighting to STOP Iran from having the ability to take out LA and San Diego with a nuclear weapon — which they would if they had the chance."
To defenders, the phrasing was typical off-the-cuff hyperbole meant to dramatize that domestic price spikes are minor when weighed against the danger of a nuclear-armed Iran.
Yet words spoken by an American president carry legal, diplomatic, and deterrence gravity. Political discourse routinely tests boundaries, but when an American leader looks into the cameras and says "Let 'em take out Los Angeles, let 'em take out San Diego," it moves past conventional partisan friction directly into unchartered waters.