Trump's original Iran comments

At a Nebraska campaign rally on Monday, President Donald Trump said Iran could take out Los Angeles or San Diego if it had nuclear weapons, speaking to cheers from the crowd.

“They can take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego.”

Democrats accuse Trump of inviting attack

Governor Gavin Newsom called Trump deranged and dangerous. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told NBC News his comments give Iran a green light to attack US cities and make America look ridiculous.

“He is deranged and dangerous.”

Bass considers congressional investigation

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she may call on Congress to investigate Trump's comments about Iran potentially attacking US cities.

Trump reframes remarks in San Antonio

On Wednesday night at a San Antonio rally, Trump recast his comments as a warning about what would happen if Iran developed nuclear weapons, saying he had no choice to prevent that.

Trump's reframed language

Trump said Iran could hit San Diego or Los Angeles to show what problems would result, asking if people wanted to see a country in free fall from such an attack.

“Let them hit San Diego. Let them hit Los Angeles if you want to see some bad things happen.”

Trump adds reassurance about protection

Trump then added that the US would not let Iran attack its cities. He said we protect our cities and we protect our country, and we are not letting that happen.

“We're not going to let that happen. We protect our cities. We protect our country.”

Rally disrupted by protester

Trump's San Antonio rally lasted about one hour and forty five minutes with numerous interruptions from protesters. A man in the crowd grabbed a protester by the hair in an incident captured on video.

Abbott skips rally despite alliance

The rally was meant to boost Texas Republicans including Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for Senate against Democrat James Talarico. Governor Greg Abbott, a staunch Trump ally, said he could not attend due to a scheduling conflict.

Trump awards Clemens highest honor

Trump announced he would award former Major League Baseball pitcher Rogers Clemens the Presidential Medal of Freedom, saying it is the highest award bestowed upon anyone along with the Congressional Medal of Honor.

“We're giving him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and along with the Congressional Medal of Honor, it's the highest award bestowed upon anyone.”

Clemens accepts award at rally

Rogers Clemens, a Texan and seven-time Cy Young Award winner, took the stage at Trump's invitation. Clemens said he was stunned and that getting the award from Trump supersedes anything he did in his playing career.

“This supersedes anything that obviously I've done in my playing career.”