October 5, 2026.

President Trump was speaking at a midterm campaign rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, defending the economic cost of the Iran war.

Higher gas prices, he argued, were a “small price to pay” for keeping America safe because Iran could someday destroy an American city.

Then he said this:

“They could take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay.”

The crowd cheered.

Read that in context.

The entire argument was supposed to be:

We must fight this war because we cannot allow an American city to be destroyed.

Instead:

“Let them take out Los Angeles.”

Then San Diego.

Los Angeles is home to millions of Americans.

San Diego is one of America’s great military cities. Sailors. Marines. Veterans. Families. Children.

His people too.

I went looking for historical context.

When Truman warned that Los Angeles could be destroyed in atomic war, he called that possibility terrible. Preventing it was the point.

Reagan said:

“A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.”

Different presidents. Different eras. Same basic obligation:

Those are our cities. Those are our people. We protect them.

Trump said:

“Let them.”

And Americans cheered.

A sitting American president could imagine a foreign enemy destroying two American cities, say “let them,” hear applause, and keep talking.

There is no Republican Los Angeles.

There is no Democratic San Diego.

There are American cities.

And when a foreign enemy threatens them, the President of the United States is supposed to have one side:

Ours.