On February 28, 2026, in the middle of the night, Trump released an 8-minute video telling the world that the U.S. had initiated ‘major combat operations’ in Iran. He didn’t pre-sell, pre-plan, or explain the purpose of his war to anyone other than Israel. He didn’t consult allies, or Congress, or Americans. When he attacked Iran, Trump made his disregard for the world’s opinion clear.
Had any real discussion or debate occurred — salivating enthusiasm from a dry drunk ‘war fighter’ doesn’t count — complexities of the Strait of Hormuz, supply logistics, and oil market volatilitieswould have surfaced. Today Trump’s folly in Iran continues, and the world whose opinion he dismissed is paying the price.
Seven months in, Trump has still not articulated non-contradictory reasons or specific objectives for his war. He can’t even stay on message about it — one hour he’s declaring that we’ve already won, the next he muses about Iran’s “total annihilation,” the next he promises the war will end “very soon.”
Let ‘em take out San Diego
Then, on Monday night, during a Republican campaign rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, Trump minimized rising prices as a consequence of the war as a ‘small price to pay’ for long-term security. Another small price to pay, apparently, would be the State of California. Discussing Iran, Trump declared: “They can take out a city. Let them take, let them take out Los Angeles; let them take out San Diego. That’s — this is a very small price to pay, and it’s going to be over with very soon.”
When ‘Death to America’ jihadists strike back — not if, but when — Trump wants to make sure they start with California. Whether or not he meant to invite a hostile attack on domestic soil, or even understood what he was saying, he plainly cast San Diego and LA as acceptable collateral in his war of choice.
San Diego, city leaders would note, is the operational nerve center of the United States Navy and the most concentrated hub of Marine Corps expeditionary power in the world. It hosts one of the largest concentrations of military assets in the nation, supporting over 115,000 active-duty service members. Naval Base San Diego is the largest surface ship homeport on the West Coast, and the principal homeport of the Pacific Fleet, with more than 50 ships across 13 piers.
San Diego is also home to Naval Base Coronado, Naval Base Point Loma, and multiple Marine Corps assets including Air Station Miramar, Base Pendleton, and the Marine Corps Recruit Depot. Casually, jokingly, or even sloppily inviting an active, engaged enemy— a hostile terror state we are currently bombing — to attack those assets should land Trump in prison for life.
Treason is the only crime defined in the Constitution. Under Article III, Section 3, treason is defined as levying war against the United States, or adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort. “Aid and comfort” in the context of treason is not limited to weapons or secrets. It can include moral or psychological support that strengthens an adversary’s resolve or weakens America’s.
A president publicly suggesting, welcoming, or minimizing the severity of an Iranian strike on American cities, especially in the middle of an active military conflict, is insane. Words that signal tolerance for an attack on civilians carry unusual weight when they come from a president, even one as cognitively impaired as this one. Iran’s cleric rulers believe their path to heaven is paved with dead Americans. They could very well perceive Trump’s words as encouragement, or even an offer: I’ll let you bomb California if you will let me save face and end this war.
Lying about the war does not inspire confidence
The backlash was swift. California Governor Gavin Newsom called the remarks ‘deranged and dangerous,’ stated that Trump is ‘mentally ill,’ and urged his removal under the 25th Amendment.
“After sending the National Guard and Marines to occupy California,” Newsom wrote online, “Donald Trump is now saying our foreign enemies should ‘take out’ Los Angeles and San Diego.”
Jim Desmond, a Trump-endorsed Republican candidate for a US House seat in California, “vehemently” disagreed with Trump’s comments. “As a Navy veteran, I served to protect Americans, not write off American cities as an acceptable price of war. Our job is to keep Americans safe, stand up to our enemies, and make sure a threat like that never becomes reality. No American city is expendable, and no American family should ever be treated as collateral damage.”
Enter White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, who has never met a treasonous comment he can’t defend. Cheung spun Trump’s remarks about Iran and California by stating that the criticism of Trump’s comments was ‘not rooted in reality,’ because what Trump really meant was that U.S. cities “would have faced threats” had a nuclear Iran not been stopped.
Except, of course, Iran’s nuclear access has not been stopped despite the administration’s assertions. Trump’s claim that we ‘obliterated’ Iran’s nuclear program contradicts widespread intelligence findings, as well as subsequent military escalation. Trump’s ‘obliteration’ claim was inaccurate then, and it remains inaccurate now.
Defense analysts warn that Iran is better positioned for a protracted war on its own terrain than the U.S. will ever be. Maybe Trump, after seven months, finally gets it that he can’t win in Iran, so he’d like to bring the war home where Fox News will help him sell it. If we had a functioning Congress or Cabinet, he’d watch the action from a prison cell.
Sabrina Haake is a political analyst and 25+ year federal trial attorney specializing in 1st and 14th A defense. She writes the free Substack, The Haake Take.
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