Trump said Iran could take out Los Angeles and San Diego.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — President Trump told a rally here on Monday night that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego, and California leaders answered within hours. “They could take out a city,” he said. “Let them take — Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego.” He called the cost of the war “a small price to pay for keeping the world safe.” The New York Times and Reuters reported the remarks. The crowd cheered.

Gov. Gavin Newsom called the president “deranged and dangerous.” “After sending the National Guard and Marines to occupy California, Donald Trump is now saying our foreign enemies should ‘take out’ Los Angeles and San Diego,” Newsom wrote. Mayor Todd Gloria of San Diego said the city was not collateral damage and not expendable. “Keep our city out of your reckless war talk,” he wrote. Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles said the comments were dangerous and could compromise the city’s safety, and that a president’s role is to protect the country, not encourage attacks.

Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego.

On Tuesday the White House said the critics had misread him. Steven Cheung, the communications director, wrote that Trump “was clearly stating U.S. cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn’t been stopped.” A White House rapid-response post said the United States is fighting to stop Iran from being able to take out Los Angeles and San Diego with a nuclear weapon. Both cities hold major military bases. The photograph is from the Grand Island rally. The Politics desk files the remarks. The firing squad is on the states page. The Warner deal is on the economy page.