Trump says ‘we protect our cities’ after saying Iran could ‘take out’ Los Angeles or San Diego

After having faced fierce backlash, President Donald Trump on Wednesday sought to clean up incendiary comments he made earlier this week, when he said Iran could “take out” Los Angeles or San Diego.

Trump’s original remarks, made at a campaign rally in Nebraska, seemed to refer to what would happen if Iran had a nuclear weapon.

“They can take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego,” Trump said Monday to cheers from the crowd.

He recast those remarks Wednesday night at a rally in San Antonio as he tried to explain the Iran war, saying he had “no choice” if the U.S. were to keep Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

“You want to see problems? And I said it the other day: Let them hit a missile into San Diego or Los Angeles on the way. Let them hit. You want to see a horror show? You want to see problems?”

“Let them hit San Diego. Let them hit Los Angeles if you want to see some bad things happen. You want to see a country that would be in free fall?”

This time, however, he added: “We’re not going to let that happen. We protect our cities. We protect our country. We’re not letting that happen.”

Trump’s initial remarks sparked backlash, particularly from California Democrats. Gov. Gavin Newsom accused Trump of prodding foreign enemies to take out U.S. cities. “He is deranged and dangerous,” Newsom wrote on social media.

Trump’s comments Wednesday came in a winding speech at a boisterous rally that stretched for about an hour and 45 minutes, with numerous interruptions from protesters. At one point, a protester who had been heckling Trump was grabbed by a person in the audience in an incident captured on video. A man in the crowd, wearing what looked to be a red “Make America Great Again” hat, grabbed the protester by the hair. Others in the crowd tried to free the protester.

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The evening was meant to boost Texas Republicans, including Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for the Senate in a pitched battle against Democrat James Talarico. In a reflection of Trump’s low favorability ratings, even in the red state of Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott — a staunch Trump ally — said he could not attend because of a scheduling conflict.

Capping the night, Trump announced that he would award former Major League Baseball pitcher and seven-time Cy Young Award winner Rogers Clemens the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

“We’re giving him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and along with the Congressional Medal of Honor, it’s the highest award bestowed upon anyone,” Trump said, adding he would help him get into the Baseball Hall of Fame someday. “He deserves it.”

Clemens, a Texan, was accused of using performance-enhancing drugs late in his baseball career. He maintains he has never used PEDs.

On Wednesday night, Clemens took the stage at Trump’s invitation, saying he was “stunned.”

“This supersedes anything that obviously I’ve done in my playing career,” Clemens said. “To get it from this man, this president, there wouldn’t be another president I’d want to get it from.”