Trump Told a Crowd to ‘Let’ Iran Take Out Los Angeles and San Diego. The White House Says He Was Misunderstood.

President Donald Trump stood before a crowd in Grand Island, Nebraska, Monday night and said something extraordinary about two American cities.

While defending the economic costs of the ongoing war with Iran, Trump argued that higher prices were a “small price to pay” for keeping the United States and the world safe.

Then he started talking about what Iran could do to an American city.

“They can take out a city,” Trump said.

Then he named two.

“Let ’em take out Los Angeles. Let ’em take out San Diego.”

The crowd responded with applause and cheers.

Trump continued by describing the situation as “a very small price to pay” and predicting that the war would end soon.

Those words are now triggering outrage across California and forcing the White House to explain what exactly the president meant.

The White House says Trump was talking about preventing an attack

There is important context.

The White House says Trump was not actually encouraging Iran to attack California.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung argued Tuesday that Trump was describing what Iran could have been capable of doing if it had obtained a nuclear weapon.

According to Cheung, Trump’s point was that the war had prevented American cities from facing that threat.

That interpretation is consistent with the broader section of Trump’s speech, in which he was defending the war and arguing that its economic consequences were worth enduring to protect the country.

But it does not erase the words that came out of the president’s mouth.

Trump did not merely say Iran could attack an American city.

He followed that thought by saying:

“Let ’em take out Los Angeles. Let ’em take out San Diego.”

That distinction is precisely why the comments have created such a firestorm.

California leaders erupted

California Gov. Gavin Newsom responded almost immediately, accusing Trump of saying that America’s foreign enemies should “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the president’s comments could potentially compromise the city’s safety and argued that the president’s responsibility is to protect Americans.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria was equally direct: “San Diego is not collateral damage. We are not expendable.”

And the backlash was not limited to Democrats.

Jim Desmond, a Republican congressional candidate and Navy veteran running in the San Diego area, publicly broke with Trump over the remarks.

Desmond said the commander in chief’s first responsibility is protecting Americans and argued that “no American city is expendable.”

That matters.

This isn’t simply another partisan fight between Trump and California Democrats. Even a Republican running for Congress in the region Trump named concluded that the president’s language crossed a line.

San Diego is also one of America’s most important military communities

There is another piece of this story that makes Trump’s choice of words particularly remarkable.

San Diego isn’t merely a large Democratic-controlled American city.

It is one of the most important military communities in the United States.

More than 115,000 active-duty service members are stationed in the San Diego area, according to Reuters, and Naval Base San Diego is the largest U.S. naval installation on the West Coast.

So when the president casually talks about Iran “taking out” San Diego, he is talking about a city filled with American sailors, Marines, military families and civilians.

They are Americans the commander in chief is sworn to protect.

Words from the president carry weight

There will undoubtedly be an argument over what Trump intended.

The White House has already supplied its answer: Trump was warning about what Iran might have been able to do, not inviting Iran to attack California.

Readers can watch the remarks and judge that explanation for themselves.

But presidential language matters precisely because the president is not just another person speaking at a rally.

The president commands the United States military, directs American foreign policy and speaks on behalf of the country on the world stage.

That makes precision especially important when discussing foreign adversaries and potential attacks against American civilians.

And whatever Trump intended, the words recorded Monday night are unmistakable:

“Let ’em take out Los Angeles. Let ’em take out San Diego.”

Millions of Americans live in those communities.

They aren’t bargaining chips.

They aren’t hypothetical collateral damage.

They are Americans.

And protecting them is part of the job.

Sean