At 6:22 in Grand Island, Nebraska, Donald Trump walked onto a stage and said something no American president should ever say. He told Iran it could “take out Los Angeles” and “take out San Diego,” calling it a “very small price to pay.” I was born and raised in Southern California. I raised my children here, and we still live here. Hearing the president talk about the destruction of the cities where my daughters sleep cracked something open inside me. But I would feel exactly the same if he had named any other place. These cities are filled with people who believed in this country’s promise, including tens of thousands of service members and their families. The man who swore to protect them stood before a cheering crowd and spoke about their lives as expendable.
What concerns me most is that we have reached a place where he can say this without the entire country erupting in outrage. Every Republican and Democrat should be demanding action. This is the person who controls our nuclear arsenal, who must think clearly and understand consequences when lives depend on him. Instead, the rest of his hour and 23 minute speech showed the same contempt for that responsibility.
Yesterday he signed a red-dyed diesel executive order after admitting, “I don’t know what the hell it is,” then told Pete Ricketts and Jim Pillen it should assure their wins in the coming midterm elections. He talked about federal disaster relief as a personal favor he granted because Nebraska voted for him.
His remarks about California came just days after we learned of voter-record subpoenas sent to San Diego, with Los Angeles receiving its own. Taken together with the earlier ICE raids, it is hard to see this as anything other than coordinated retribution. Whether he walks his words back or denies them later does not matter. He said what he said.
The Republicans standing behind him know how dangerous this has become. Thom Tillis said at least 30 of his Senate colleagues have privately expressed serious reservations, while threats of primary challenges keep them from acting independently. He warned of a “dictator king,” predicted an “electoral bloodbath,” and acknowledged a risk in how Trump might respond to losing. Those growing cracks are also an opening for us. Trump has promised more events like this, and the more people hear him, the harder it becomes to pretend this is acceptable. We can take away the Congress that enables him and begin the long work of rebuilding a country where no president gets to offer our cities and our people up as a small price to pay.
See the full story in the video.
We are living through a pivotal moment for our country, and my goal is to reach as many people as possible with clear, factual information about what is happening. The more people who understand what is unfolding, the better our chances of pushing back against chaos, cruelty, and corruption ahead of the midterms.
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I’ll see you tomorrow,
Heather
This video is based on my written post, available HERE, and based on the events of 10-5-2026.
This commentary represents my personal opinions and analysis of matters of public concern, informed by publicly available information. Any references to individuals constitute opinion and commentary protected under the First Amendment.
Sources:
President Trump holds midterm rally in the red state of Nebraska: YouTube Video
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/thom-tillis-60-minutes-transcript/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senator-thom-tillis-60-minutes/
https://inewsource.org/2026/10/01/san-diego-county-doj-voter-information-subpoenas/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_America_Great_Again
https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/05/politics/donald-trump-nebraska-red-state-blitz
