President Trump had reportedly considered a plan to “surge” into San Francisco with National Guard troops, but ultimately changed his mind, according to a Thursday post on his Truth Social network. The post indicated that tech leaders like Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff contacted him and persuaded him to reverse the decision.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie acknowledged in a statement that the planned military operation was canceled, though he did not specify who spoke with the President.
Benioff’s role is especially noteworthy. Earlier in the month, just before Salesforce’s major tech conference in its hometown of San Francisco, Benioff (a San Francisco native) expressed support for Trump. He also stated his belief that National Guard troops should patrol the city’s streets. This remark led VC veteran Ron Conway to resign from his long-held board position on Salesforce’s philanthropic foundation, criticizing both the statement and his friend, Benioff.
Benioff quickly apologized and retracted his desire for National Guard patrols. “… after the largest and safest Dreamforce in our history, I do not believe the National Guard is needed to address safety in San Francisco,” Benioff stated in a post on X earlier this month. It seems the CEO reinforced this stance by appealing directly to the White House.
Mayor Lurie is scheduled to speak at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco next week. We may learn more about how the city, a hub for the AI industry, has enhanced safety and worked to resolve the situation.
