SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – President Donald Trump spoke for about an hour and a half in Nebraska on Monday, but it was a roughly 20-second comment about the war with Iran and gas prices that got San Diego’s attention.
“Remember, with the war, it's just artificial. It's a little bit high. It's a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe. They can take out a city. Let them, let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay, and it's going to be over soon,” Trump said.
Local leaders are responding to that remark and what they believe the president meant.
“Our service members are dying for his vanity exercise, his war of choice, and now he's trying to offer up American cities as a sacrifice and saying that that would be acceptable. That's crazy,” said Navy veteran Shawn VanDiver.
VanDiver said even if the president misspoke, he lacks good judgment.
“The president is offering to sacrifice California cities to Iran to make the war stop, the war that he chose to get involved in, the war of choice that has put thousands of lives at risk, millions of lives at risk,” VanDiver said.
Others in San Diego are also weighing in.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said in a statement, in part, “The most fundamental responsibility of a President is to protect the American people — all of them. No American city, regardless of its politics or geography, should ever be described as expendable or an acceptable price to pay.”
“Unless they're a politician trying to divide us and to just foment hate, I think that everyone agrees that Donald Trump wants to protect Americans, whether they are in San Diego, Los Angeles, all Americans,” said Republican Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, who represents California's 75th Assembly District.
ABC 10News asked DeMaio for his response to the president’s comments. DeMaio said he thinks trump's comments aren’t being heard in full context.
“He wasn't referring to let them take out a city. He was referring to the fact that we need to get this conflict over with. It's a necessary step to make sure Iran does not have a nuclear weapon,” DeMaio said.
The White House’s Rapid Response Twitter account posted on Tuesday, “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.”
