The White House has pushed back after Democrats accused President Donald Trump of suggesting Iran should “take out” the major US cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, AFP reports.

Viral footage showed comments by Trump at a midterm elections rally in Nebraska on Monday, where he said high oil prices from the Iran war were justified by the need to stop Tehran getting nuclear weapons.

The White House insisted Trump was talking about the threat posed by Iran, branding it a “media freakout” that was “not rooted in reality.”

“He was clearly stating US cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn’t been stopped,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said on X.