After facing fierce backlash, President Donald Trump sought Wednesday to put an end to incendiary remarks he made earlier this week, when he said Iran could “eliminate” Los Angeles or San Diego.
Trump’s original remarks, made at a campaign rally in Nebraska, appeared to refer to what would happen if Iran possessed nuclear weapons.
“They can take over a city. They can take over Los Angeles. They can take over San Diego,” Trump said Monday to cheers from the crowd.
He reiterated those comments Wednesday night at a rally in San Antonio as he tried to explain the war in Iran, saying he had “no choice” if the United States were to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
“You want to see trouble? And I said it the other day: Let them launch a missile at San Diego or Los Angeles on the way. Let them hit. You want to see a horror show? You want to see trouble?”
“Let them hit San Diego. Let them hit Los Angeles if you want to see bad things happen. You want to see a country in freefall?”
This time, however, he added: “We are not going to allow this to happen. We are protecting our cities. We are protecting our country. We are not allowing this to happen.”
Trump’s initial remarks drew backlash, particularly from California Democrats. Gov. Gavin Newsom accused Trump of inciting foreign enemies to destroy American cities. “He is disturbed and dangerous,” Newsom wrote on social media.
“Doing this makes us look ridiculous on the world stage, but it also gives the green light to Iran, the nation that they have chosen to attack, the green light to attack our cities,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told NBC News after Wednesday’s rally.
Bass said she may ask Congress to investigate Trump’s comments.
Trump’s comments Wednesday came in a meandering speech at a raucous rally that lasted about an hour and 45 minutes, with numerous interruptions from protesters. At one point, a protester who was heckling Trump was grabbed by someone in the audience in an incident caught on video. A man in the crowd, wearing what looked like a red “Make America Great Again” hat, grabbed the protester by the hair. Others in the crowd attempted to free the protester.
The evening was intended to boost Texas Republicans, including Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for Senate in a pitched battle against Democrat James Talarico. Reflecting low pro-Trump ratings even in the red state of Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott — a staunch Trump ally — said he could not attend due to a scheduling conflict.
To cap off the evening, Trump announced that he would award Rogers Clemens, a former Major League Baseball pitcher and seven-time Cy Young Award winner, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
“We award him the Presidential Medal of Freedom and, along with the Congressional Medal of Honor, it is the highest honor given to anyone,” Trump said, adding that he would one day help him enter the Baseball Hall of Fame. “He deserves it.”
Clemens, a Texan, was accused of using performance-enhancing drugs late in his baseball career. He maintains he has never used a PED.
On Wednesday evening, Clemens took the stage at Trump’s invitation, saying he was “stunned.”
“It supersedes everything I’ve obviously done in my playing career,” Clemens said. “To get it from this man, from this president, there would be no other president I would want to get it from.”
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