Sacramento, California - Governor Gavin Newsom responded after President Donald Trump joked about Iran launching strikes on California cities.

On Monday night, the president gave a speech at a rally in Nebraska in which he attempted to justify his decision to abruptly go to war with Iran, arguing that the subsequent rising costs for Americans are necessary for "keeping the world safe."

He then claimed the conflict could lead to Iran targeting the US – and bizarrely suggested blue cities for Tehran to aim at first.

"They could take out a city," Trump said gleefully. "Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego."

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California officials have been left outraged by the wild remarks.

In an X post, Governor Gavin Newsom called Trump "deranged and dangerous," and in a follow-up, he accused the Republican of "advocating for an attack on 10+ million US residents."

"This is not normal. None of this is. And we will continue to remind folks of that every day," he added.

In a Facebook post, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria wrote, "Keep our city out of your reckless war talk," while in another statement, Los Angeles Mayor Angela Bass argued, "The role of a president is to protect the country, not to actively threaten it and encourage attacks on American lives."

With the November midterms quickly approaching, Trump has been trying to place the blame for the negative effects of the war he launched on Democrats.

As he has done many times before, Trump vowed during his speech that the war is "going to end very soon" but gave no details as to how.