Todd Gloria says no American city should be "an acceptable price to pay" and asks Trump to retract the remark
Todd GloriaMayor of San Diego, in a statement issued by his office
In a statement issued by his office on October 6, 2026, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said Trump "so casually dismissed" the lives of San Diego's nearly 1.4 million residents, that no American city "should ever be described as expendable or an acceptable price to pay," and that Trump should retract the remarks and apologize to the people of San Diego.
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."
“No American city, regardless of its politics or geography, should ever be described as expendable or an acceptable price to pay.”
Official statement
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
Official statement
About this source
Statement issued by San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria's office on October 6, 2026, responding to Trump's October 5 rally remark. The office also distributed it by email to media, including Dispute Index.
Before the quotation
The statement was issued the morning after the rally, and its introduction says it followed Trump's suggestion "that a foreign adversary could 'take out' San Diego" and his calling it a "small price to pay." Gloria opened by describing San Diego as "an anchor of our nation's security in the Pacific" and home to servicemembers, shipbuilders and researchers.
After the quotation
Gloria continued, "San Diegans deserve a President who values their lives, honors the service and sacrifice of our military families, and takes seriously his responsibility as Commander in Chief. President Trump should retract these remarks and apologize to the people of San Diego." He closed, "A President does not get to decide which American communities are worth protecting. His duty is to all of us."
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. Gloria's statement treats the remark as describing San Diego as expendable and asks for a retraction and an apology, which adopts the critics' reading and criticizes the remark. The closest competing label is Challenged the characterization, but he objects to what he takes Trump to have said rather than disputing how others described it. This is a separate occasion from his October 5 post on X. Evidence: the statement as published by the Mayor's office.
- Recorded on
- Published here
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
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
Cheung says Trump meant U.S. cities would have been threatened by a nuclear Iran
“He was clearly stating U.S. cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn't been stopped.”Read statement
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Todd Gloria says no American city should be "an acceptable price to pay" and asks Trump to retract the remark
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/4900-in-a-statement-issued-by-his-office-on
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Todd Gloria says no American city should be "an acceptable price to pay" and asks Trump to retract the remark". First published: 2026-10-06. Last updated: 2026-10-06. https://disputeindex.com/events/4900-in-a-statement-issued-by-his-office-on