US President Trump, speaking at a campaign rally Monday, suggested Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego — a comment that was possibly in jest but brought a quick reaction from leaders in California.

Axar.az reports, citing Los Angeles Times, Trump said he wanted to “see a tremendous victory” in the November election, “’cause it verifies all the things we did. And again, 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,” he continued. “They can take out a city, let ’em take out Los Angeles, let ’em take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay.”

His comment was met with criticism from California leaders.