10/16/2026
Iran took one look at California and decided there was nothing left to hit.
That's the joke. And after the week Democrats just had, they earned it.
Here's what happened. At a rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, President Trump argued that higher gas prices are a small price to pay to keep Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. He warned that a nuclear Iran could take out a city like Los Angeles or San Diego.
Democrats grabbed the clip, stripped out the context, and ran with it.
Gavin Newsom went straight to X and claimed Trump was saying "our foreign enemies should 'take out' Los Angeles and San Diego." He called the President "deranged and dangerous."
Then something strange happened. CNN, of all places, refused to play along.
CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale said the viral version wasn't a correct paraphrase. CNN's Aaron Blake agreed the "small price to pay" line was about the cost of the war, not about sacrificing two American cities.
When CNN won't carry your water, you've gone too far.
So did Newsom correct the record? Did he admit he got it wrong?
Of course not. He doubled down and called the remarks "dangerous, if not treasonous." No retraction. No apology. Just silence and on to the next outrage.
But here's where the cartoon lands.
Even if Iran wanted to hit California, why would they bother?
Newsom has spent years doing the job for them. The highest gas prices in the country, crushing taxes, tent cities on the sidewalks, and businesses heading for Texas and Florida.
More people are leaving California than moving in. That's not a talking point, that's the state's own numbers.
Iran's generals can save their missiles. The damage is already done, and it came from Sacramento.
