Insanity!

There are moments when a president says something that ought to make every American stop and ask: What exactly did I just hear?

At a political rally in Nebraska, President Trump was talking about Iran and nuclear weapons. He was arguing that the war with Iran was necessary to keep the world safe.

And then he said this:

“They could take out a city. Let them take — let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego.”

Now, I don’t care whether you’re a Republican, Democrat, independent, MAGA, liberal, conservative, or somebody who gave up on politics years ago.

A president of the United States should never talk casually about an enemy destroying an American city.

Los Angeles isn’t a blue city.

San Diego isn’t a blue city.

They’re American cities.

The people who live there aren’t electoral votes. They’re Americans. They’re families. They’re children. They’re firefighters, teachers, nurses, construction workers, business owners, veterans and active-duty military personnel.

And San Diego, of all places, is one of America’s great military communities.

So what are we doing?

Now, context matters. Trump was apparently trying to make the argument that a nuclear-armed Iran could someday threaten American cities. Maybe he intended Los Angeles and San Diego simply as examples of what could happen if Iran obtained a nuclear weapon.

Fine. Then say that.

Say: “My job as president is to make sure no American city ever faces that threat.”

That’s presidential.

But “let them take out Los Angeles” isn’t presidential rhetoric.

And this gets to something much bigger than Donald Trump.

We’ve spent years dividing America into red America and blue America.

Red states. Blue states.

Red cities. Blue cities.

Trump country. Democratic strongholds.

At some point, we’ve got to remember that the colors on an election-night television map aren’t borders.

California isn’t another country.

Texas isn’t another country.

Nebraska isn’t another country.

North Carolina isn’t another country.

We’re all Americans.

Imagine the reaction if a Democratic president stood before a cheering crowd and said:

“Let them take out Dallas.”

Or Houston.

Or Nashville.

Or Oklahoma City.

Republicans would be furious.

And they should be.

The standard shouldn’t change depending on whose name is on the bumper sticker.

That’s one of the biggest problems in American politics today. We’ve gotten so tribal that we sometimes decide whether something is right or wrong only after we find out who said it.

That’s backwards.

There ought to be some things we agree on before politics enters the room.

One of them should be incredibly simple:

No American city is expendable.

And there’s another reason presidential language matters.

When you’re the president, your words don’t disappear when the rally ends.

Foreign governments analyze them.

Military commanders hear them.

Financial markets hear them.

Our allies hear them.

Our enemies hear them.

And 340 million Americans hear them.

The presidency comes with an enormous microphone.

That means it also comes with an enormous responsibility.

If we’re going to talk about nuclear weapons—and the possibility of an American city being destroyed—that deserves seriousness, precision and restraint.

Because nuclear war isn’t campaign rhetoric.

It isn’t a punch line.

It isn’t something you throw into a rally speech to fire up a crowd.

It’s one of the most horrifying possibilities humanity has ever created.

And here’s where I think Americans need to change the conversation.

We don’t have to spend the next week screaming at each other about whether Donald Trump is evil or Gavin Newsom is right or wrong.

Ask a simpler question:

What should we expect from a president?

I expect a president to protect every American.

The people who voted for him.

The people who voted against him.

And the people who didn’t vote at all.

That’s the job.

When you become president, you’re no longer president of the Republican Party.

You’re not president of MAGA.

You’re not president of the people at your rallies.

You’re President of the United States of America.

All of it.

From San Diego, California, to Greensboro, North Carolina.

From Manhattan to rural Nebraska.

Every city.

Every town.

Every neighborhood.

Every American.

And maybe this is one of those moments when we need to rediscover something that shouldn’t be controversial at all:

Patriotism isn’t rooting for your half of America.

Patriotism is believing that the whole damn country is worth protecting.

Even the people who disagree with you.

Especially the people who disagree with you.

That’s what makes us a country instead of two political tribes occupying the same piece of land.

So when an American president talks about an enemy “taking out” Los Angeles or San Diego, Americans shouldn’t respond as Republicans or Democrats first.

We should respond as Americans.

And we should say together:

Mr. President, those are our cities.

Those are our people.

And no American city is expendable.