Former NBC Journos on MS NOW Lie and Say Trump Wants Iran to Bomb California Cities

Nicholas Spinnato
October 6th, 2026 5:22 PM

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Throughout the day on Tuesday, MS NOW could not stop itself from framing President Trump’s comments on the war in Iran as if he wanted Iran to bomb the California cities of Los Angeles and San Diego. In particular, two former NBC journalists who covered Trump during his campaigns and time at the White House, Peter Alexander and Katy Tur, both specifically went all in with mini-monologues that decried the rally.

After Morning Joe similarly spent much of their Tuesday show on the claim, Alexander’s State of Play also led with the rally claims:

So, just when you think you have heard it all from President Trump, he is triggering new outrage and condemnation. Things going off the rails during yesterday's political rally. This happened in Nebraska when the president tried to justify higher gas and diesel prices due to the war in Iran. Now, in its eighth month.

 

 

He continued with outrage, and stated, “The comments from a sitting American president, who is sworn to protect the American people, the U.S. Homeland, they're not just outrageous that we have to let you hear it straight from the president himself, or you wouldn't even believe he said such a thing.”

After playing the edited clip that even CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale said had been misrepresented by an X post that went viral, Alexander continued in an ultra-serious tone:

The words of the president of the United States. They could take out LA or San Diego for a moment. Imagine those exact words from FDR or Ronald Reagan. You pick the president. Imagine President Trump saying it during his first administration. Why does the language like this seem to fly today? Why aren't Republicans speaking out one after another?

Alexander, as the newfound MS NOW host he is, praised Democrats and said, “Democrats, of course, are slamming the remarks, but barely a word from the president's own party to him suggesting two major U.S. Cities could be taken out. While his war of choice shows no sign of ending any time soon.”

 

 

Later in the day came Tur’s midday show, which has, essentially, turned into a progressive opinion show, even with Tur declaring earlier this year that she wanted to become a constitutional activist after she retired from TV.

She began with a recall of her time at Trump rallies during the 2016 campaign: 

I spent 510 days on the road covering Trump, went to probably 250 rallies across 40 states where I saw him road test his rhetoric in real time. Say something outrageous, see the crowd cheer, then say it again. Louder, sharper, worse. I was there as he realized there was truly no line he could not cross, not even bragging about shooting someone on Fifth Avenue.

Tur added, “The insults, the name-calling, the conspiracy theories, the cruelty, both casual and direct, became applause lines. The once unthinkable normalized.”

Tur then dramatized the Monday rally: (Click "expand")

But what he did last night was different, even for him. He told thousands of Nebraskans that Iran has the capability to bomb an American city and then told them, go ahead, quote, let them take out Los Angeles, let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay. That's verbatim.

The metropolitan area of San Diego has a population of 3.3 million. Los Angeles? 12.9. That is 16 million people that the president just cast aside, including, by the way, the largest population of Iranians outside of Iran. That's why they call it Tehrangeles. Why would he do that? What does he get out of all but saying it's totally worth it to let 16 million Americans die? A small price to pay.

She continued to lambast Trump, and now claimed Trump was making a joke: “If it's a joke, it's not funny. You're not a comedian. You're not. You are the president of the United States. And by the way, this sort of rhetoric doesn't appear to be working anymore either.”

For former NBC reporters, the pair of Alexander and Tur were not holding back their liberal biases anymore.

The transcript is below. Click "expand":

MS NOW’s State of Play

October 6, 2026

11:00:52 PM Eastern

ALEXANDER So, just when you think you have heard it all from President Trump, he is triggering new outrage and condemnation. Things going off the rails during yesterday's political rally. This happened in Nebraska when the president tried to justify higher gas and diesel prices due to the war in Iran. Now, in its eighth month.

The comments from a sitting American president, who is sworn to protect the American people, the U.S. Homeland, they're not just outrageous that we have to let you hear it straight from the president himself, or you wouldn't even believe he said such a thing.

PRESIDENT TRUMP [Edited Clip from Nebraska Rally]: Remember, with the war, it’s just artificial. It's a little bit high. It's a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe. They can take out a city. 

Let them take out Los Angeles. .Let them take San Diego. This is a very small price to pay, and it's going to be over with very soon. It's essentially almost over with. And they might keep going a little longer. You know, they always say they have a big threshold for pain. They need it. Let me tell you.

ALEXANDER: The words of the president of the United States. They could take out LA or San Diego for a moment. Imagine those exact words from FDR or Ronald Reagan. You pick the president. Imagine President Trump saying it during his first administration. Why does the language like this seem to fly today? Why aren't Republicans speaking out one after another? 

Democrats, of course, are slamming the remarks, but barely a word from the president's own party to him suggesting two major U.S. Cities could be taken out. While his war of choice shows no sign of ending any time soon. 

We want to bring in now Capitol Hill reporter Mychael Schnell. She's in Grand Island, Nebraska. Mychael, you were in the room yesterday. One of the most striking things for me as I was watching this is that the crowd there cheered as the president delivered those comments. Take us into that room. How are Republican members reacting to it this morning as well?

MYCHAEL SCHNELL: Yeah, Peter. It was moment, myself, where I thought, did I really hear that correctly? You are right that the crowd did cheer. There was some applause when President Trump had delivered that line. But I can tell you, it was certainly not the loudest point that everyone had gotten, and probably not the kind of reaction that Trump had expected. 

And that's because I don't think a lot of voters here in Nebraska think that these high gas prices and the war in Iran is a joke. Gas prices are over $4 a gallon, diesel is over $6 a gallon. And in a place like Nebraska, where farmers make up such a large part of the workforce, those diesel prices are squeezing them. I heard from voters who said that they're not turning on their tractors or their pickup trucks, because they don't want to pay for the diesel to power them, so they don't want to make a joke out of these high gas prices. So, that's why we did hear some applause and some cheers, but not as much as we could have. 

And I would also note I heard from folks who were at this rally who told me they wished that President Trump was doing more to address these gas prices. Now, when you talk about congressional Republicans, that's a different story. I've been making calls and sending out text messages all morning to try and get an understanding of what folks think of this. I haven't gotten any significant pushback just yet. 

And I will note, this is still something that folks are waking up to, particularly on the West Coast, since they are behind. But what I've heard from Republicans, essentially, is some people saying they believe the president was speaking in jest and making a joke. Obviously, this going very far. Some other people saying he's talking about the fact that port cities would be in most and the most threatened if Iran were to launch some sort of missile towards the United States. But I will note there was one Republican who said he could have chosen a city on the east coast as well. So it didn't look like he was just picking on California. So we're still gathering the reaction, but certainly some bombshell comments from the president last night that are continuing to reverberate this morning.

(...)

MS NOW The Moment with Katy Tur

October 6, 2026

3:01:04 PM Eastern

KATY TUR: Good to be with you, I'm Katy Tur. I spent 510 days on the road covering Trump, went to probably 250 rallies across 40 states where I saw him road test his rhetoric in real time. Say something outrageous, see the crowd cheer, then say it again. Louder, sharper, worse. I was there as he realized there was truly no line he could not cross, not even bragging about shooting someone on Fifth Avenue. 

The insults, the name-calling, the conspiracy theories, the cruelty, both casual and direct, became applause lines. The once unthinkable normalized. But what he did last night was different, even for him. He told thousands of Nebraskans that Iran has the capability to bomb an American city and then told them, go ahead, quote, let them take out Los Angeles, let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay. That's verbatim. 

The metropolitan area of San Diego has a population of 3.3 million. Los Angeles? 12.9. That is 16 million people that the president just cast aside, including, by the way, the largest population of Iranians outside of Iran. That's why they call it Tehrangeles. Why would he do that? What does he get out of all but saying it's totally worth it to let 16 million Americans die? A small price to pay. If it's a joke, it's not funny. You're not a comedian. You're not. You are the president of the United States. And by the way, this sort of rhetoric doesn't appear to be working anymore either.

(...)

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