Today in One Sentence. Trump suggested letting Iran “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego if it develops a nuclear weapon; Trump reversed course and said MAGA Inc. will start paying for his “Patriotic Ads” instead of using taxpayer funds; his super PAC doesn’t plan to reimburse taxpayers for the more than $10 million spent on TV ads promoting him; Trump demanded that the FBI investigate anti-ICE protesters after watching a TikTok video; and a former CIA official pleaded guilty to wire fraud after diverting about $194 million in government funds, which he used to buy Florida mansions and gold.

1/ Trump suggested letting Iran “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego if it develops a nuclear weapon. At a Nebraska rally, Trump defended his seven-month war as “a small price to pay for keeping the world safe,” saying, “Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. […] it’s going to be ⁠over with very soon.” California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the remarks “deranged and dangerous” and directed the state’s threat assessment center to monitor whether foreign actors interpret them as an invitation to target California. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also warned that the remarks “could potentially compromise our safety.” The White House, meanwhile, dismissed the criticism, saying “The media freakout over President Trump’s comments is not rooted in reality. He was clearly stating U.S. cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn’t been stopped.” (Los Angeles Times / Reuters / NBC News / New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / ABC News / Axios / The Hill / CBS News)

2/ Trump reversed course and said MAGA Inc. will start paying for his “Patriotic Ads” instead of using taxpayer funds. Trump called the use of public money “a rather standard thing to do,” but said he decided to “pay for them myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc.” The government has spent at least $10 million airing the ads under a $20 million Department of Homeland Security contract. The ads carry “Paid for by the U.S. Government” disclaimers, and one reused footage from a 2024 Trump campaign video. The White House, meanwhile, denied that the ads were political, saying: “The President is not on the ballot and the ads don’t have a call to action.” (New York Times / Politico / CNN / Washington Post / CBS News / NBC News)

  • 86% of Americans disapprove of using taxpayer money for the Trump’s $20 million campaign-style TV ads, while 9% support it. (The Hill)

3/ Trump’s super PAC doesn’t plan to reimburse taxpayers for the more than $10 million spent on TV ads promoting him. The White House clarified that Trump’s plan to pay for the ads himself using money raised for MAGA Inc. “was not referring to reimbursement” and applied only to ads “moving forward.” Asked whether he would repay the government for ads that had already aired, Trump replied: “We’ll decide.” (Axios / New York Times / The Hill / CNBC)

4/ Trump demanded that the FBI investigate anti-ICE protesters after watching a TikTok video, according to a whistleblower complaint. Former FBI intelligence analyst Jill Fields said the FBI was ordered to run checks on the protesters in Alhambra, California, in early 2025 despite having no evidence of a crime. FBI Director Kash Patel reportedly told top FBI leaders that Trump “was angry about the incident, and he wanted those protesters investigated and arrested.” Fields also alleged that Emil Bove, then acting deputy attorney general, demanded a separate investigation of protesters outside a federal building. The White House, however, denied the allegations, saying violence and obstruction aren’t protected speech. (CNN / NBC News)

5/ A former CIA official pleaded guilty to wire fraud after diverting about $194 million in government funds, which he used to buy Florida mansions and gold. David Rush also admitted in his plea agreement that he disclosed “certain descriptive information of a U.S. government clandestine human source” that could “endanger the safety and life of the human source and the U.S. government officers working with the source.” He faces up to 20 years in prison. (NBC News / CBS News / Washington Post / New York Times / CNN)

The 2026 midterms are in 28 days; and the 2028 presidential election is in 763 days.