President Donald Trump on Tuesday let his hand do the talking when asked about an incendiary remark the day before.

As he approached reporters outside the White House, one journalist asked, “Mr. President, what did you mean by your comments yesterday about San Diego and Los Angeles possibly being wiped out by Iran?”

Trump swatted his hand as if to dismiss the query.

Perhaps he had said enough already. On Monday, in an apparent riff, Trump tried to excuse the high cost of fuel to Nebraska rallygoers amid his prolonged war against Iran.

“It’s a little bit high,” he said. “It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe. They could take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego.”

That got applause.

Some cable news personalities rebuked Trump. A CNN fact-checker defended him. And the White House claimed the president was merely suggesting that U.S. cities would have been threatened if a “nuclear Iran hadn’t been stopped.”

In the gaggle Tuesday, he moved on by answering a question about his so-called $5,000 “dividend,” and did not address his controversial comment.

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