Peters says San Diego is not a 'small price to pay'
Scott PetersU.S. representative from California's 50th District
Rep. Scott Peters wrote on X that San Diego is a military town awaiting the return of sailors and Marines from the USS Lincoln, and that "America knows San Diego is not a 'small price to pay' for his inability to resolve" the war.
Responding to
Trump accepts attacks on Los Angeles and San Diego as a cost of the Iran war: "if it means attacks on two major American cities in the process, he is not troubled by the cost."
“America knows San Diego is not a “small price to pay” for his inability to resolve it.”
Original post
Where this statement fits
What did Trump mean when he said 'Let them take out Los Angeles' at a Nebraska rally?
At a campaign rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, on October 5, 2026, President Donald Trump called the costs of the Iran war "a small price to pay for keeping the world safe" and said, "They can take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego." The passage followed remarks about the midterm elections and did not mention nuclear weapons; Trump had said earlier in the speech that Iran will not have one. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, the mayors of Los Angeles and San Diego and other critics said Trump was inviting attacks on the two cities or treating them as an acceptable price for the war. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said Trump was stating that U.S. cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran had not been stopped. The dispute is over what Trump meant.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Rep. Scott Peters's post on his congressional X account, quoting a clip of the rally remark.
Before the quotation
Peters's post, quoting a video clip of the rally remark, opens: "San Diego is a proud military town, home to 115,000 courageous active duty servicemembers and their families. Military service is at the root of our community and culture. This month we await the return home of the sailors and marines still stranded on the USS Lincoln for months thanks to Donald Trump's reckless war in Iran."
After the quotation
This sentence ends the post.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is whether Trump's remark meant Iranian attacks on Los Angeles and San Diego would be an acceptable price for the war, as critics read it, rather than that the war prevents a nuclear Iran from being able to attack them, as the White House says. Peters rejects the idea that San Diego could be a "small price to pay" for the war, which treats the remark as accepting harm to the city and criticizes Trump. The closest competing label is Challenged the characterization, but Peters objects to what he takes Trump to have said rather than disputing how others described it. Evidence: Peters's own post on X.
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- Donald Trump
More from this case
Read the full caseDemocratic National Committee calls the remark 'disgusting and dangerous'
Democratic National Committee
“Disgusting and dangerous. End the war and hold him accountable.”Read statement
Todd Gloria says no American city should be "an acceptable price to pay" and asks Trump to retract the remark
“No American city, regardless of its politics or geography, should ever be described as expendable or an acceptable price to pay.”Read statement
White House Rapid Response account says Trump meant stopping a nuclear Iran
Rapid Response 47
“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”Read statement
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- The Dispute Index
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- Peters says San Diego is not a 'small price to pay'
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- https://disputeindex.com/events/4884-rep-scott-peters-wrote-on-x-that-san
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Peters says San Diego is not a 'small price to pay'". First published: 2026-10-06. Last updated: 2026-10-06. https://disputeindex.com/events/4884-rep-scott-peters-wrote-on-x-that-san