President Donald Trump casually offered two U.S. cities to Iran to “eliminate” while rambling about how the deadly war he launched is a “small price to pay.”
The 80-year-old president floated the ominous proposal Monday during a speech at a rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, where Republicans face a surprisingly tough fight to retain their Senate seats.
“Remember, with war, it’s just artificial. It’s a little high,” he began, apparently referring to the war that has driven up prices for Americans, especially at the pump, where the national average now stands at $4.37 a gallon.
“It is a small price to pay to ensure the security of the world and our country,” continued the billionaire president, before suggesting in an icy tone that he would accept the destruction of two American cities sheltering millions of Americans.
“They can take a city, let them take, let them take Los Angeles, let them take San Diego. It’s a very small price to pay,” he said, naming the two Democratic-run cities in California.
The MAGA crowd in Nebraska cheered.
“And it’s going to be over very soon,” Trump continued. “It’s pretty much over. And they might go on for a little while, you know. They always say they have a high pain threshold. They need it, let me tell you.”
The commander in chief, who controls nuclear codes and whose cognitive health is increasingly under scrutiny, added that the seven-month-old war would end “one way or another.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
California Governor Gavin Newsom responded to Trump’s comments about
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria also fired back at Trump, posting on
No other American president appears to have ever suggested that bombing an American city would be an acceptable cost.
Trump has already raised the specter of mass death, threatening in April to wipe out “all civilization” in Iran. But suggesting that American cities could take the hit marks new territory.
That’s not to say he hasn’t previously flirted with images of destruction on American soil. In September 2025, while threatening to send National Guard troops to Chicago, the president posted an AI-generated message. Apocalypse now parody image depicting military helicopters flying over the city ravaged by flames.
Trump’s description of the war as a “small prize” also appears to be a particularly bitter message to American service members who have been killed and injured in the quagmire.
The total number of war casualties rose to 861 last week, according to updated figures from the Pentagon’s War Casualty Analysis System (DCAS). At least 19 service members were killed, although U.S. officials told The Washington Post there were at least three others missing from the count.
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