President Donald Trump stated that a ballistic missile would be dropped on Los Angeles or San Diego.

Posted by Bannon`s War Room, Oct 7, 2026Checked Nov 2, 2026

Polygraph verdictMixed

Sources: 3 contradict2 support5 context
Said: 1 time·
Confidence: 60%

Bannon`s War RoomOct 7, 2026

Trump did say, at the San Antonio rally, "Let them hit a missile into San Diego or Los Angeles," but he did not use the word "ballistic," and the sources frame the remark as a conditional about Iran rather than a stated plan.

What was said

… How can we stop these people crossing the border illegally? That's got to be dealt with. And I but I get back to the president and what Romp said. I think this president toxic. You know, it's one thing to to think about terrorism, but to join terrorism in the message saying that they're going to drop a ballistic missile on LA or in San Diego, and they get the people in that area terrorized, why would the president do that? Why would he join in the Iranian terror tactics? Why would he talk about scaring American citizens in their homes, in our homeland? Why would he do that? …

Bannon`s War Room · Oct 7, 2026· from the transcriptPost →

What we found

Contradicts. The sources quote Trump saying "missile," not "ballistic missile," and his phrasing was "let them hit" and "take out," which is permissive and hypothetical rather than a statement that a missile would be dropped.[1][6][7]

Supports. At a San Antonio rally on Oct. 8, Trump said, "Let them hit a missile into San Diego or Los Angeles on the way," which matches the claim's core that Trump referenced a missile striking LA or San Diego.[6][7][8][9]

Context. The White House said Trump was clearly stating that U.S. cities would be threatened if a nuclear Iran were not stopped, and Trump's Truth Social post said he meant higher gas prices were a small price to pay and asked what a bombing of San Diego or Los Angeles would cost. Fact-checkers Snopes and FactCheck.org read the remarks as a hypothetical about Iran's threat, not a call for an attack.[1][2][3][4][5]

Context. Critics including Gov. Newsom and Mika Brzezinski read the remarks as calling for Iran to attack, and Snopes rated the attribution of the 'take out' quote as correct, so the dispute concerns intent and wording rather than whether Trump spoke.[3][4][10]

Sources

10 sources: 5 fact-checkers, 1 tier 2, 3 not rated, 1 tier 3

1Trump says comment that Iran could 'take out' Los Angeles was misinterpretedreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts, context
2The Context for Trump's 'Take Out' Los Angeles, San Diego ...factcheck.org · fact-checker · cited for: context
3Did Trump say of Iran, 'Let 'em take out' LA and San Diego?snopes.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
4What Trump said about Iran taking out Los Angeles, San Diegopolitifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
5White House aide: Trump did not call for attacks on US cities but explained how he's preventing themapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
6Trump says 'we protect our cities' after saying Iran could ' ...nbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: contradicts, supports
7Trump doubles down on California comments: ‘Let them hit San Diego, Los Angeles’fox40.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports
8Donald Trump Doubles Down on Explosive 'Take Out' LA & ...yahoo.com · not rated · cited for: supports
9Pres. Trump revisits controversial remarks about attacks on LA, San ...abc7news.com · not rated · cited for: supports
10Trump's bombshell signals a horrific October Surprise is in the worksrawstory.com · tier 3 · cited for: context

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Said in 1 published post

Bannon`s War Room · Oct 7, 2026Post →

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