Being Trump means never having your words mean anything

At a Monday rally in Nebraska, President Donald Trump said these words to big applause: “They [Iran] can take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay.” 

The plain English meaning of that is clear, and Trump has been getting a ton of flak for it. 

But Trump being Trump, MAGA rallied to his side explaining all the possible ways Trump didn’t mean the words he said. 

“OMG. Every leftist is going to go nuts with this and it’s because he isn’t speaking clearly,” wrote one right-wing podcaster on X. “He’s not advocating for the destruction of American cities, even in California. FFS.”

Got it, he doesn’t speak clearly, though no one gave President Joe Biden a pass that one time he confused billion with million …

Trump’s official White House “rapid response” account pretended that everyone was too stupid to understand what Trump was saying: “No, he didn’t, you buffoons. He was saying the U.S. is fighting to STOP Iran from having the ability to take out LA and San Diego with a nuclear weapon—which they would if they had the chance.”

That may have been what Trump intended to say, but his demented brain is mush, and his ability to string together coherent truthful sentences is fully compromised. 

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One American News Network host David Pollack chimes in with a “the context was clear”-style defense: “Trump was talking about gas prices. Here’s the full quote that the fake news won’t give you.” Then Pollack gives us the full quote, which absolves Trump of nothing: “gas prices are artificial and it’s a small price to pay, let them take out Los Angeles, let them take out San Diego.” 

Apparently, you have to be fluent in “idiot” to think that the fuller quote in any way says something different than what it clearly says. Again, Trump might’ve intended to say something else, but what came out of his mouth was clear—and indefensible. 

Then, of course, there’s the “he was joking” defense. 

“It’s clear he’s making a pun about nuking LA ans SD,” posted one of his defenders.  

Got it? So he’s either joking, or he’s been taken out of context, or he was clear as day and you’re just stupid for not understanding, or his intent was clear but he was just rambling. 

It’s all so clear that there are multiple explanations floating around trying to justify the unjustifiable. 

And one more point: Why is everyone else trying to explain what Trump actually meant? And that includes actual journalists still inexplicably wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt. Only Trump can explain what he meant. 

And the fact that he refuses to walk back his words means he’s happy with people believing he wanted American cities destroyed.

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