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Trump says Iran could “take out” LA and San Diego

During a rally in Nebraska, former President Donald Trump stated, "Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego" while defending the economic costs of confronting Iran. This remark immediately triggered a dispute over whether he meant to treat the cities as expendable or describe a future threat from a nuclear Iran.

The question

Was Trump taken out of context?

Yes 71%No 29%

45 players picked a side before playing.

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The best arguments

Written by Agora players and ranked by Agora's AI reasoning score. Shown without names.

  • He said “ Donald Trump’s remarks were dangerous — if not treasonous — putting a target on two of our biggest cities and one of America’s largest naval hubs. I am directing the State Threat Assessment Center to actively monitor the situation in the event that foreign actors interpret the President’s remarks as an invitation to target California.” H

    A player · strong argument

  • Trump was taken out of context. Trump was speaking about how gas prices were a small price to pay rather than Iran get a nuclear weapon and threaten 2 of Americas biggest cities. Trump would have no reason to call for California to be attacked especially with the midterms coming up and wanting Republicans to sweep the midterms. Trump was taken out of context and news agencies are using it to further sow divide between Americans.

    A player · strong argument

  • The existence of federal intelligence of Iran's capabilities, or lack thereof as they don't have ICBMs, does not reassure people by itself. In fact the intel would only reassure those who are already involved enough with geopolitics to know that the alleged threat was empty. There is no way to force people to inform themselves of the status of the Iran war. To that point, it is the fault of Trump and his choice of words, though it may not be intentional, that stirs up the drama. The people who feel threatened by his words are those who are not actively researching the conflict, so their response is based purely off of Trump's comments. Filtering Trump's flamboyant commentary would do wonders, and making federal intelligence concerning the war more readily available than it is would be an improvement, reducing the effect of taking his words out of context.

    A player · strong argument

  • Giving the American public more information on our defense capabilities and how safe we actually are both lessens fears but also shows that the president’s comment was unnecessary. If anything it only further ignited national partisanship, when in reality neither city is at risk of termination. Realistically the comment was Trump making a joke in poor taste about cities that most republicans find undesirable. It is doubtful that he meant it as a threat or challenge to the Iranians, especially since they lack the technology to attack us. Even so, it was ill suited to his office and should be walked back in light of further information and to lessen the divide between political parties.

    A player · decent argument

  • If the president would make a statement openly denying and apologizing for making it seem like our cities were expendable and a price he’s willing to pay for a war on foreign soil, it would ease the minds of many worried citizens. I do believe the president doesn’t truly think of these cities as expendable, but he needs to make a statement affirming that belief because right now it is easy to see how a resident of one of the previously mentioned cities might feel uneasy which could cause unnecessary division in our country.

    A player · decent argument

  • We are bringing reality into the conversation by using informed intelligence to evaluate any possibility of a threat. The best way to combat his chaotic rhetoric is with reality.

    A player · decent argument

  • The President has long made clear that he simply doesn’t not care about Americans who don’t fully support him and he sees California as an enemy since it is a Democrat stronghold. Why else would he pick two cities that are the FARTHEST away from Iran? Wouldn’t it make more sense to pick any of the large metropolitan area in the Eastern US?

    A player · decent argument

In this game

  1. What state are the cities Trump said Iran could “take out” in?
  2. Which did Gavin Newsom actually say?
  3. Iran currently possesses ballistic missiles capable of striking the U.S. mainland from its own territory.
  4. Immersive Command Mode
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