Trump says Iran taking out LA, San Diego is a small price
Remarks made at Nebraska rally linked to rising fuel prices and war with Iran.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Trump says Iran taking out LA, San Diego is a small price
Photograph: news-pravda.com (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Donald Trump said Iran could destroy Los Angeles and San Diego, describing it as a small price to pay.
- The remarks were made at a rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, and linked to the war with Iran and rising fuel prices.
- Audience members responded with applause and cheers to Trump's statement.
- The US president did not provide an explanation for his comments.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 7 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 8 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
61/100
Hype
61/100
8 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
Only 2 of the 7 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Donald Trump stated that Iran could destroy Los Angeles and San Diego, describing it as a small price to pay. He made these remarks during a rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, linking his comments to the ongoing war with Iran and the rise in fuel and commodity prices. The audience responded with applause and cheers to Trump's statement. The US president did not explain his words.
Divergent accounts of Trump's remarks
News-pravda.com reported Trump's statement as: "They can destroy the city, let them destroy Los Angeles, let them destroy San Diego. It's a very small price to pay, and it's all going to end very soon." This outlet also stated, "The US president did not explain his words." Fakti.bg reported Trump saying, "Let them destroy Los Angeles or San Diego. It’s a small price to pay," and added that the audience responded with applause and cheers. Alternet reported Trump saying, "It's a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe," and that he "joked" about Iran attacking the cities. Mediaite reported that Trump received cheers and applause when he spoke of California's two largest cities being taken out.
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated reports mention that the US president did not explain his words, a detail present in the right-rated news-pravda.com report. No centre-rated outlet covered this story.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 3 times, most recently on 6 Oct 2026, 04:30, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
5 rated outlets
- Left-rated reports led on Donald Trump's statement that Iran could destroy Los Angeles and San Diego, framing it as a controversial or shocking remark. Daily Kos used the headline "This POS said that if Iran takes out LA and San Diego 'it’s a small price to pay' folks ain’t outraged enough!" and expressed strong disapproval of Trump's comments. The Wrap's headline stated, "Gavin Newsom, Jim Acosta and More Torch Trump After He Dares Iran to ‘Take Out’ Los Angeles or San Diego in Rally Speech," highlighting reactions from public figures. Fakti.bg reported Trump's statement and noted the audience's applause and cheers. Alternet reported Trump saying, "It's a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe," and suggested Trump "joked" about the possibility. Mediaite's headline was "Rally-Goers Cheer as Trump Says, ‘Let Them Take Out Los Angeles’ or ‘San Diego’," focusing on the audience's reaction.
Centre
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated centre has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Right
2 rated outlets
- Right-rated reports focused on Trump's statement about the potential destruction of Los Angeles and San Diego in connection with the war with Iran. News-pravda.com's headline read, "Trump announced the possibility of destroying Los Angeles and San Diego in connection with the war with Iran." The report quoted Trump saying, "They can destroy the city, let them destroy Los Angeles, let them destroy San Diego. It's a very small price to pay, and it's all going to end very soon." Vz.ru's headline stated, "Trump Allowed Los Angeles to Be Destroyed in the War with Iran." This report also quoted Trump saying, "They can destroy the city, let them destroy Los Angeles, let them destroy San Diego. This is a very small price that has to be paid, and all of this will be over very soon."
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Trump says Iran taking out LA, San Diego is a small price?
- Of the 7 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 71% are rated left, 0% are rated centre, 29% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 8. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Trump says Iran taking out LA, San Diego is a small price left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 7 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Trump says Iran taking out LA, San Diego is a small price biased?
- Trump says Iran taking out LA, San Diego is a small price is one event reported by 8 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Trump says Iran taking out LA, San Diego is a small price?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Trump says Iran taking out LA, San Diego is a small price?
- 8 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did Donald Trump say about Iran and US cities?
- Donald Trump stated that Iran could destroy Los Angeles and San Diego, describing it as a small price to pay. He linked these remarks to the war with Iran and rising fuel and commodity prices during a rally in Nebraska.
- How did the audience react to Trump's statement?
- Audience members at the rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, responded with applause and cheers to Donald Trump's statement about Iran potentially destroying Los Angeles and San Diego.
- Did Donald Trump explain his comments?
- The reports indicate that the US president did not explain his remarks about Iran potentially destroying Los Angeles and San Diego. This detail was noted in at least one of the right-rated reports.
Read it at the source
8 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
5- Gavin Newsom, Jim Acosta and More Torch Trump After He Dares Iran to ‘Take Out’ Los Angeles or San Diego in Rally Speech (opens The Wrap in a new tab)
- Trump: Let Iran Destroy Los Angeles and San Diego, It's a Small Price to Pay (opens fakti.bg in a new tab)
fakti.bg — is fakti.bg biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Trump jokes about Iran destroying Los Angeles and San Diego (opens Alternet in a new tab)
- This POS said that if Iran takes out LA and San Diego “it’s a small price to pay” folks ain’t outraged enough! (opens Daily Kos in a new tab)
Daily Kos — is Daily Kos biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Rally-Goers Cheer as Trump Says, ‘Let Them Take Out Los Angeles’ or ‘San Diego’ (opens Mediaite in a new tab)
Centre
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Right
2- Trump Allowed Los Angeles to Be Destroyed in the War with Iran. (opens vz.ru in a new tab)
- Trump announced the possibility of destroying Los Angeles and San Diego in connection with the war with Iran: (opens news-pravda.com in a new tab)
news-pravda.com — is news-pravda.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
1How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
