Donald Trump has again pledged to send troops to San Francisco, claiming in a Fox News interview that he has 'unquestioned power' to deploy the National Guard and that residents want the military in their city. 'We’re gonna go to San Francisco. The difference is I think they want us in San Francisco,' the president said.
His comments follow expressions of support from tech billionaires including Elon Musk, David Sacks, and Marc Benioff, the Salesforce chief executive. Sacks argued a 'targeted operation' could clean up the city, while Benioff suggested troops could assist with policing duties. Benioff later apologised after facing backlash, retracting his support.
Trump has sought to send the military to other Democratic-run cities, including Chicago and Portland, but has faced fierce pushback and legal challenges. In September, a judge found that his dispatch of troops for immigration enforcement in Los Angeles violated federal law, and a federal judge issued an injunction halting the deployment in Portland.
San Francisco leaders have been preparing for months. Mayor Daniel Lurie said the city is 'working closely with the appropriate state and federal enforcement agencies every day' and that coordination is delivering results. The city’s homicide rate this year is expected to be the lowest since 1954, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
State Senator Scott Wiener said, 'First of all, San Franciscans don’t want him to send his personal army to occupy and invade San Francisco. We don’t want that. So he needs to go away, back off.' He added that Trump 'hates San Francisco, he hates what we represent because we support immigrants, we support LGBTQ people.'
