White House Slams "Media Freakout" Over Trump's Iran Remarks at Nebraska Rally

The White House fired back Tuesday at what it called a "media freakout" over President Donald Trump's Monday night rally remarks in Nebraska about a nuclear Iran's ability to "take out" Los Angeles or San Diego, arguing the president's words were being ripped out of context.

The White House Rapid Response account took direct aim at a Los Angeles Times headline that read: "Trump suggests letting Iran 'take out' Los Angeles and San Diego at campaign rally."

"No, he didn't, you buffoons," the account wrote on X.

"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," the post continued.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung also pushed back, warning that the media's response was "not rooted in reality."

"He was clearly stating U.S. cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn't been stopped. America is safer because of the President. Iran has no nuclear, no navy, no air force, and no money," Cheung said.

At the rally, Trump had been discussing the higher prices tied to the war with Iran. He described those costs as "a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe" and stopping Iran from becoming a nuclear power.

"They could take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego," Trump went on, drawing applause from the crowd.
The comments sparked furious condemnation from top California lawmakers and a number of pundits, who seized on the remarks.

But the president found an unlikely defender in CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale.

Dale pushed back on a viral post from the Headquarters account, which is linked to former Vice President Kamala Harris. The post quoted Trump as saying, "Let 'em take out Los Angeles and San Diego, it's a small price to pay."

"This isn't a direct quote from Trump, and I very much don't think it's a correct paraphrase," Dale wrote.
The CNN fact-checker explained that Trump had repeatedly made the case that costs such as higher gas prices were a relatively small consequence of keeping Iran from gaining the ability to threaten American cities.
Still, Dale was not entirely charitable to the president. He criticized Trump's delivery, writing that grasping the president's intended point required familiarity with "TrumpRallySpeak."
It was a distinction the White House was also drawing on Tuesday, though in far blunter terms.

The administration's message was clear: the president was not inviting an attack on American cities but warning about what could have happened had Iran been allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. According to Cheung, the threat to U.S. cities was real, and the president's actions have left America safer.

The back-and-forth marks the latest clash between the White House and media outlets over coverage of the president's rally remarks, with the administration insisting that the full context of Trump's comments tells a very different story than the headlines suggested.