“Representative Scott Peters said San Diego is home to 115,000 active-duty servicemembers as well as their families. Peters also referenced the nearly nine-month deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is expected to return to San Diego on Thursday.
“‘This month we await the return home of the sailors and marines still stranded on the USS Lincoln for months thanks to Donald Trump’s reckless war in Iran,’ Peters said on social media. ‘America knows San Diego is not a “small price to pay” for his inability to resolve it.'”
Read more in this article from Fox 5 / KUSI, posted below:
‘Let ’em take out San Diego’: local leaders condemn Trump rally remarks
By Chris Ponce
October 5, 2026
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — During a rally ahead of the 2026 midterm election, President Donald Trump gave remarks on the U.S.-Iran war on Monday that sparked concern from San Diego elected officials.
Trump told supporters at the Nebraska rally that he wanted to see a “victory” from the war and that the cost of the war is a “small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe.”
“They could take out a city,” Trump said. “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 very soon. It’s essentially almost over with.”
This statement was met with applause and cheering from some rally attendees. The City of Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million, according to the U.S. Census. The City of San Diego is home to more than 1.37 million people. Additionally, San Diego County is home to seven military installations.
San Diego-based elected officials across the aisle condemned Trump’s comments.
Representative Scott Peters said San Diego is home to 115,000 active-duty servicemembers as well as their families. Peters also referenced the nearly nine-month deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is expected to return to San Diego on Thursday.
“This month we await the return home of the sailors and marines still stranded on the USS Lincoln for months thanks to Donald Trump’s reckless war in Iran,” Peters said on social media. “America knows San Diego is not a ‘small price to pay’ for his inability to resolve it.”
Additionally, Rep. Sara Jacobs, Rep. Mike Levin and California Governor Gavin Newsom condemned the remarks.
Local leaders such as San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, Mayor Todd Gloria and City Councilmember Marni Von Wilpert, a Democratic congressional candidate, also criticized what Trump said about the two cities.
“This is an impeachable offense by the Commander in Chief, who swore an oath to protect our country,” Von Wilpert said in a news release. “Our homes, our families and our communities cannot be treated as collateral damage or a political punchline by this President.”
The statement also received pushback from some local leaders across the aisle. San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, a Navy veteran and Trump-endorsed Republican who is running against Von Wilpert, posted on social media that he “vehemently” disagreed with Trump’s comments.
“Our job is to keep Americans safe, stand up to our enemies, and make sure a threat like that never becomes reality,” Desmond said. “No American city is expendable, and no American family should ever be treated as collateral damage.”
Lawson-Remer said in a news release that elected officials can have disagreements, but the president’s first responsibility is to protect everyone in the nation. She also called Trump a “traitor to our security.”
“San Diego is not collateral damage,” Gloria said on social media. “We are not expendable. And we are never a “small price to pay. Keep our city out of your reckless war talk.”