President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is calling off plans to deploy federal troops to San Francisco after speaking to the city’s mayor and following backlash from the tech industry.
“The people of San Francisco have come together on fighting Crime, especially since we began to take charge of that very nasty subject.
Great people like Jensen Huang, Marc Benioff, and others have called saying that the future of San Francisco is great.
They want to give it a ‘shot.’ Therefore, we will not surge San Francisco on Saturday,” the president wrote.
Earlier this month, Benioff told the New York Times that he would support Trump sending federal troops to police his city.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced that he was canceling his plans to send federal troops to San Francisco after consulting with the mayor of the city and receiving criticism from the tech sector.
“My friends who live in the area called me last night to ask me not to proceed with the surge because the Mayor, Daniel Lurie, was making significant progress,” Trump’s post stated. “The Federal Government was preparing to’surge’ San Francisco, California, on Saturday.”.
He also stated that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff were among the “friends” who urged Trump to postpone the National Guard’s deployment to San Francisco.
The residents of San Francisco have united in their efforts to combat crime, particularly since we took control of that vile issue. Renowned figures like Marc Benioff and Jensen Huang have called and said that San Francisco has a bright future. They wish to give it a try. Thus, on Saturday, we will not overrun San Francisco,” the president wrote.
Speaking to Trump last night, Lurie confirmed in a separate statement that he told him, “I told him the same thing I told our residents: San Francisco is on the rise… “.”.
We would welcome further collaborations with the FBI, DEA, ATF, and U.S. A. The mayor continued, “We need an attorney to remove drugs and drug dealers from our streets, but having the military and militarized immigration enforcement in our city will impede our recovery.”. We are grateful that the president recognizes that San Francisco is the center of technology in the world and that when it is strong, so is our nation. “.”.
Since the summer, Trump has considered sending federal troops to San Francisco; however, the suggestion gained momentum after Benioff, a powerful tech tycoon, recently endorsed it.
Benioff told the New York Times earlier this month that he would back Trump’s use of federal troops to patrol his city. “If they can be cops, I’m all for it, because we don’t have enough cops,” he said.
But Benioff changed his mind on Friday, posting on X, saying, “I don’t think the National Guard is necessary to address safety in San Francisco.”. I truly regret any concern my previous comment may have caused; it was the result of my extreme caution regarding the event. “.”.
In San Francisco, Benioff has long been seen as one of the more progressive billionaires in the city. He advocated for a new business tax in the city in 2018 that would raise funds to combat homelessness. However, he has shifted to the right over the last few years, just like a lot of other tech executives.
Benioff has been friends with Elon Musk for a long time, and in December, he said that Musk’s plans for the Trump administration had “great vision.”. “”.
Other San Francisco tech executives have publicly urged Trump to wait in recent days. The CEO of tech startup incubator Y Combinator, Garry Tan, was among them. He wrote on X that Trump ought to give the elected officials in the city a chance. While much more needs to be done, Tan wrote, “SF is headed toward resurgence, and DA Jenkins and Mayor Lurie are doing the work.”. “Allow them to cook.”. “”.
NBC News requested comments from Tan, Nvidia, and Salesforce.
With the support of numerous tech executives and investors, Lurie, a Democrat, was elected last year. Following Chesa Boudin’s recall by voters, progressive prosecutor Brooke Jenkins was appointed as the district attorney in 2022.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that “the president is willing to work with anyone across the aisle, across the country, to do the right thing and clean up America’s cities.”. “,”.
He truly cares about the endeavor to restore cleanliness and safety to our cities and streets. And last night, the mayor informed him that he would make a sincere effort to improve his city on his own. He was heard by the president. “All right, I’ll give you a chance,” he said. We shall observe. We are also available if you need us,” she continued.
Trump stated, “We’re going to go into San Francisco at some point in the not too distant future,” during a press conference on Sunday aboard Air Force One. “.”.
The deployment, according to the president, will “make that a great city again.”. Only when there is no crime can a city be considered great; if there is, it cannot be considered great. “”.
Additionally, he threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act as justification for the troop deployment, telling reporters, “I’m allowed, as, you know, as president, like 50 percent of the presidents, have used the Insurrection Act, they can use that, and everybody agrees you’re allowed to use that.”. “”.
Trump clarified that he wasn’t using the Insurrection Act at the moment because “we’re trying to do it in a nicer manner.”. However, if we so choose, we can always invoke the Insurrection Act. “”.
Democratic leaders in California and the Bay Area responded negatively to the threats.
Governor of California. Earlier this week, Democrats Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta threatened to sue the Trump administration over the matter.
“It is an outright attack on the rule of law that the federal government can send troops into our cities without any real-world rationale, supervision, accountability, or regard for state sovereignty,” Newsom said in a statement on Tuesday.
We’re drawing a line,” he continued, “and California will always protect our people, our values, and the Constitution from authoritarian overreach. “,”.
On Tuesday, Newsom posted on X, saying, “Sending troops to San Francisco? Do it and we’ll sue.”. We do not submit to monarchs. The Constitution is defended by us. “.”.
Trump has “listened to reason” on the matter, according to a Newsom spokesperson on Thursday.
“For the first time, Trump has paid attention to common sense and what we have been saying from the start. The Bay Area is a prime example of what makes California unique, and any effort to undermine our advancement would be detrimental to the work that has already been done. The governor’s spokesperson, Diana Crofts-Pelayo, told NBC News, “We will keep an eye out for any issues in the area as the days go by.”.
The president’s deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles earlier this year to put down protests against immigration enforcement raids in the city and surrounding areas has already sparked a legal dispute between the Trump administration and the California government.
A three-judge panel from the 9th U.S. A. It seemed doubtful to the Circuit Court of Appeals that the president had the unchallengeable authority to send the National Guard into the streets of Los Angeles. After a federal judge in San Francisco declared in September that Trump had unlawfully mobilized National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles, the case’s oral arguments took place.
This year, Trump has also sent the National Guard to Washington, Chicago, and Portland.
A federal appeals court on Monday overruled local officials’ objections and permitted the Trump administration to keep the National Guard stationed in Oregon.
