Fact checkPoliticsPublished October 7, 2026

The claim

“Republican leaders, including Speaker Johnson and Senator Thune, have not issued an adequate public response to Trump’s comments about Iran bombing Los Angeles and San Diego.”

Robert GarciaSpeechOctober 7, 2026Read the original

Representative Robert Garcia made the claim in a broadcast interview reported by Breitbart on 6 October 2026, the day after Trump's rally remarks.

Our verdict

Unverified

We could not confirm or refute this claim. It is clear that Donald Trump made the remarks about Iran and Los Angeles and San Diego, and that Robert Garcia said Republican leaders had not responded adequately, but we found no public evidence showing what Speaker Johnson or Senator Thune actually said or did in response.

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What we found

Donald Trump's remarks are well documented. Reports from KCRA, ABC7, The Guardian, the Times Herald, the Los Angeles Times and FactCheck.org all describe him saying at an October 5, 2026 rally that Iran could "take out" Los Angeles and San Diego. Robert Garcia's criticism is also on the record: Breitbart reported that he said Republican leaders, naming Speaker Johnson and Senator Thune, had not given an adequate response.

What we could not find is any public statement, or clear public silence, from Speaker Johnson or Senator Thune about these specific remarks. One article from The Hill covers Johnson commenting on different Trump remarks, about the death of Rob Reiner, and so does not answer the question. Without direct evidence of what the two leaders said or did not say, we cannot judge whether their response was adequate or whether there was no response at all.

Because the key part of the claim cannot be checked against public records, our verdict is unverifiable. If you have seen a statement from Speaker Johnson or Senator Thune on this matter, please send it to us.

The evidence

1 of 6 sources support the claim; none contradict it.

Contradict 0Support 1Background 5
When each source was published
thehill.com · Dec 2025 · backgroundkcra.com · Oct 2026 · backgroundabc7.com · Oct 2026 · backgroundwww.breitbart.com · Oct 2026 · backgroundtheguardian.com · Oct 2026 · supports the claimDec 2025Oct 2026

What we could not confirm

  • Whether Speaker Johnson made any public statement about Trump's remarks on Iran and Los Angeles and San Diego.
  • Whether Senator Thune made any public statement about those remarks.
  • Whether either leader deliberately stayed silent, and how their response would be judged as adequate or not.
  • Whether either leader commented after the period covered by the sources we examined.

How we checked

We looked at news reports and fact-checks covering Trump's rally remarks, the response from Robert Garcia, and any public comments by Speaker Johnson or Senator Thune. We searched for direct statements or clear evidence of silence from the two leaders on this specific matter, but found none. We reviewed 8 relevant sources.

Help us check this claim

We could not find enough public evidence to confirm or refute this claim. If you know of an official record, dataset, transcript or report that settles it, send us the link. We review every submission and update this fact check when the evidence changes the picture.

Measured Take updates fact checks when new evidence emerges. Corrections are noted on the page.

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