Democrats are using the claim that Donald Trump said Iran should nuke Los Angeles and San Diego in campaign ads.
Posted by The Kuhner Report, Checked
- Sources
- 2 support5 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 40%
The Kuhner ReportOct 7, 2026
Sources document that Democrats and California leaders publicly accused Trump of urging Iran to 'take out' Los Angeles and San Diego, and fact-checkers dispute that reading. None of the sources says Democrats used this specific claim in campaign ads; the AP ad coverage concerns Iran war votes and cost-of-living messaging.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… crazy, unhinged story that the President of the United States is calling, or is willing to tolerate, or is saying that Iran should nuke the second largest city in the United States, Los Angeles, and another major city, San Diego. and you have, and the Democrats are running wild with this lie. They're using it now in campaign ads, they're running on it all over the country, and now you've got tens of millions of Americans who are absolutely petrified. I mean, I'm talking terrorized, because they believe it's true because the media is lying to them. …
The Kuhner Report · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. Democratic officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, Rep. Nancy Pelosi and all 43 California House Democrats, publicly accused Trump of inviting Iran to attack Los Angeles and San Diego.[1][4]
Context. AP's analysis of campaign ads found Democrats running ads on the Iran war votes and rising prices, not specifically on the Los Angeles and San Diego remarks.[2][5]
Context. PolitiFact and FactCheck.org examined the remarks and reported the White House's position that Trump was describing the threat of a nuclear Iran, not calling for an attack; this addresses the underlying claim, not Democratic ad use.[1][3][6]
Context. No source addresses whether any Democratic campaign ad specifically used the Los Angeles and San Diego accusation; the Inquirer snippet's ad reference is truncated and does not identify one.[7]
Sources
7 sources: 3 fact-checkers, 2 tier 2, 2 not rated
- 1What Trump said about Iran taking out Los Angeles, San ...politifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports, context
- 2Iran war votes in Congress become a focal point for campaign ad attacksapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3FactCheck.org Author: Paul Cuno-Boothfactcheck.org · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 4Opinion | No, Trump didn’t invite Iran to bomb Los Angeleswashingtonpost.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 5How Iran war votes in Congress became a focal point for campaign ...pbs.org · tier 2 · cited for: context
- 6The Latest: Trump heads to Maryland in effort to tout factory ...sfchronicle.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 7Trump's suggestion Iran could 'take out' LA or San Diego ...inquirer.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The media and Democrats are claiming that President Trump called on Iran to attack Los Angeles and San Diego.True
- Donald Trump suggested that Iran should bomb Los Angeles and San Diego.Mixed
- Gavin Newsom, Karen Bass, and Todd Gloria have stated that President Trump wants Iran to nuke Los Angeles and San Diego.Mixed
- President Trump went to war to prevent Iran from nuking Los Angeles and San Diego.True
- Democrats are running a coordinated campaign to terrorize voters with a false claim about Trump.Can’t tell