Donald Trump faced backlash for his missiles hitting San Diego and LA comment, but he doubled down: ‘You want to see a horror show?’

Two days after drawing criticism in Nebraska, President Donald Trump talked about Iranian missiles on Californian cities at a rally in San Antonio on Wednesday. He again spoke about San Diego and Los Angeles being hit, then said his administration would not allow that to happen. The comments came as he defended the U.S. war with Iran.

Trump said an attack on those cities could leave the country in “free fall.” He argued that the military operation was necessary to protect Americans from Iran if Tehran obtained nuclear weapons. He framed the war as a way to stop that outcome.

“You want to see trauma? You want to see problems? Let them hit a missile into San Diego or Los Angeles on the way. Let them hit,” Trump said, according to MS NOW. He then asked, “You want to see a horror show?” and added, “Let them hit San Diego, let them hit Los Angeles.”

California officials and the White House offered opposing readings of the remarks

After laying out that scenario, Trump said the administration would block it. “You want to see a country that would be in free fall?” Trump said. “We’re not going to let that happen. We protect our cities. We protect our country.”

The San Antonio comments followed remarks he made Monday at a Nebraska rally. There, he suggested Iran could strike the same two California cities. He raised that possibility while defending the economic costs of the war. Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., accused Trump of encouraging Iran to attack California after he made the comments in Nebraska.

Newsom called the president “deranged and dangerous” on X. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass spoke with MS NOW’s Peter Alexander and described the president’s comments as “irresponsible.” “You don’t say something like that in jest,” Bass said. “You are the president of the United States, and your number one job is to protect and defend the American people, not to invite a foreign power to attack a city.”

The White House later pushed back on criticism of the Monday remarks. Officials argued that Trump was warning about the threat from a nuclear-armed Iran, not urging attacks on American cities.

On Wednesday, Trump also restated his case for the operation itself. He said confronting Iran was required to keep the country from obtaining nuclear weapons. “Just as I promised, I am ensuring that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. Never,” Trump said.

He suggested U.S. military involvement in Iran would end soon, without giving a date. His prediction about falling fuel costs was not the first time he had staked a number on the outcome, as he has vowed oil prices will drop precipitously after an Iran war win. “We’ll be out of there soon,” Trump said Wednesday night. “And you watch those oil prices come down like a rock.”

Fuel costs remain higher while the war continues. AAA said the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline was $4.37 on Wednesday, up from $3.12 a year earlier.