[Anchor]

U.S. President Donald Trump has sparked controversy by suggesting that the destruction of Los Angeles and San Diego could be accepted for the sake of achievements in a war with Iran. The Governor of California and the mayors of the cities in question immediately pushed back.

Reporting from Washington, this is correspondent Lee Hanseok.

[Reporter]

U.S. President Donald Trump took the stage at a campaign rally in Nebraska.

While arguing that rising prices resulting from a war with Iran are a small price to pay for security, he went as far as making these remarks.

[Donald Trump / U.S. President: It's a very small price to pay to keep the world and our country safe. They might destroy a city. We might let Los Angeles or San Diego be destroyed. But this is truly just a minor price, and the situation will soon be resolved.]

Cheers erupted, largely due to it being a Republican stronghold filled with Trump supporters.

Although President Trump did not specify who "they" are in attacking U.S. cities, contextually it was interpreted to mean that even if Iran strikes the U.S. mainland, it is a price worth bearing, sparking a major backlash.

In particular, by specifically singling out major cities in California, a Democratic stronghold that he has frequently criticized as a "symbol of failed progressivism," analysts say it reveals Trump's hostile perception toward political opponents.

Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom immediately called him out of his mind and urged the invocation of the 25th Amendment, which provides for the suspension of presidential duties. Mayors of the affected regions were also outraged, stating that the head of state had made scapegoats of his own citizens.

Even a Republican candidate distanced themselves, stating that no American city can be abandoned.

The White House pushed back, claiming that it was a warning about a hypothetical situation if the nuclear threat could not be stopped and that the media was hallucinating.

With early voting for the November midterm elections getting into full swing, the president's gaffe downplaying homeland security has become a detonator for the election race.

(Video Shooting: Oh Jung-shik, Video Editing: So Ji-hye)