Newt Gingrich is campaigning in Ohio, which is one of the states to vote as part of “Super Tuesday” next month. In a far-reaching comment, Gingrich invoked the possibility of a deadly Iranian nuclear attack on Ohio — to stress the importance of U.S. manufacturing.

Newt Gingrich: “You think about an Iranian nuclear weapon. You think about the dangers, to Cleveland or to Columbus or to Cincinnati or to New York. Remember what it felt like on 9/11 when 3,100 Americans were killed. Now imagine an attack where you add two zeros, and it’s 300,000 dead, maybe a half million wounded. This is a real danger. This is not science fiction. And that’s why I think it’s very important that we have the strongest-possible national security. And so, I wanted to come see how you manufacture, remind the news media and others that manufacturing in America can be the dominant system in the world.”