Officials in California denounced comments made by President Donald Trump as “dangerous” on Monday after he appeared to suggest Iran could “take out” Los Angeles or San Diego – major cities in a state he has often criticized.

Speaking at a rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, ahead of the midterm elections, Trump once again called the consequences of the war with Iran a “small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe,” adding that Iran could potentially take out an American city.

“Let, let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego,” Trump said in comments that drew swift backlash from California’s leaders.

“This is a very small price to pay and it’s gonna be over with very soon,” he said of the war.

Trump has repeatedly made the argument that high gas prices are a small price to pay for the war in Iran and in his Nebraska comments, he appeared to contrast that with a dramatically higher price to pay – an attack on a US city.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said on X that Trump was “clearly stating U.S. cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn’t been stopped.”

“America is safer because of the President. Iran has no nuclear, no navy, no air force, and no money,” Cheung said.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom called the president “deranged and dangerous,” while Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the statements about the city “could potentially compromise our safety.”

“The role of a president is to protect the country, not to actively threaten it and encourage attacks on American lives,” said Bass, also a Democrat.

The Democratic mayor of San Diego, Todd Gloria, said the city “is not collateral damage. We are not expendable. And we are never a ‘small price to pay.’ Keep our city out of your reckless war talk.”

Trump’s comments also drew criticism from Republican congressional candidate Jim Desmond, who said he “vehemently” disagreed with the president.

“America must stand up to Iran and defend our interests, but the first responsibility of our Commander in Chief is to protect the American people and our homeland,” said Desmond, who is running in California’s 48th Congressional district. He added, “No American city is expendable, and no American family should ever be treated as collateral damage.”

Trump’s highlighting of cities in California that could be targeted by Iran comes as he has frequently criticized the state and its leaders over immigration, state elections and wildfires.

The president also repeated during his speech in Nebraska that the war is “going to end very soon.”

At the onset of the war, Trump had vowed that the conflict would only last a few weeks, but it has since gone on seven months.

The president made the new argument last week that his initial four- to six-week timeline had just been about the time it would take to eradicate the nuclear threat from Iran and not the time it would take to conclude the entire war.