TEHRAN – Speaking at a campaign rally on Monday in Grand Island, Nebraska, President Donald Trump suggested that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego.

Trump made such illusory statements to inflame public opinion as the midterm congressional elections are rapidly approaching. He fears that Republicans could lose control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate because of the unwarranted war that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu started against Iran on February 28 and is still continuing.

At the campaign rally, Trump said he wanted to “see a tremendous victory” in the November election.

Trump is using such bombastic rhetoric as the war on Iran has caused fuel prices to rise sharply at home after Iran closed the strategic Strait of Hormuz — a transit route for about one-fifth of global energy supplies — in response to the surprise and illegal aggression against the country.

Trump uttered these words to garner votes for fellow Republicans, especially as opinion polls show that a majority of Americans disapprove of his war against Iran.

Americans are now feeling the pain of the Iran war at gas stations. The public in the United States is asking how a president who denounced his predecessors for engaging in “endless wars” could himself start a war of choice against Iran.

Trump has been futilely seeking to justify the war by claiming that Iran was about to build nuclear bombs and drop them on other countries.

Just a few days ago, he claimed that Iran would have “wiped” Israel, Saudi Arabia and various other countries “off the face of the planet” with nuclear bombs if he had not been president. His Monday remarks also fall within such delusional and sham claims.

Such rhetoric from the president comes as U.S. intelligence agencies have found no evidence that Iran was trying to build nuclear weapons. Moreover, Iran has placed limits on the range of its missiles and does not possess intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of striking cities such as Los Angeles or San Diego.

Trump is accustomed to telling lies, but his Monday claim about Iran is particularly astounding. These remarks are primarily aimed at demonizing Iran.

Trump wants to deceive the public into believing that high fuel prices and the resulting inflation are a cost Americans should be willing to pay.

“It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe,” he continued. “They can take out a city, let ’em take out Los Angeles, let ’em take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay,” he told the campaign rally.

His rash comments were met with criticism from California leaders, including at least one Trump-endorsed Republican candidate from San Diego, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Gov. Gavin Newsom posted on X: “After sending the National Guard and Marines to occupy California, Donald Trump is now saying our foreign enemies should ‘take out’ Los Angeles and San Diego. ... He is deranged and dangerous.”

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria also posted, “San Diego is not collateral damage.” He added, “We are not expendable. And we are never a ‘small price to pay.’ Keep our city out of your reckless war talk.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, in a statement, called Trump’s remarks “dangerous,” saying they could “potentially compromise our safety.”

“The role of a president is to protect the country, not to actively threaten it and encourage attacks on American lives,” she said.

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) also criticized Trump for his comments on Monday evening, writing on X: “The President says the Iran war will end ‘very soon.’ How many times have we heard that promise? And if it means attacks on two major American cities in the process, he is not troubled by the cost.”

Though these officials know that Trump is lying and are using his deceptive remarks in the run-up to the midterm elections, Trump’s foreign policy statements are remarkably delusional and erratic.