Trump threatens to deploy the military to San Francisco
US President Donald Trump threatened to send troops to San Francisco, California, in an interview on Sunday, as he seeks to deploy the military to more Democratic strongholds.
The remarks came as the president deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles, Washington, and Memphis, often against the wishes of local authorities, while judges blocked the deployment of troops in Chicago and Portland.
Trump told Fox News that the next destination for the deployment is San Francisco, explaining, “The difference is, I think they want us in San Francisco… San Francisco was one of the greatest cities in the world… But 15 years ago, things went south”.
“We’re going to San Francisco and we’re going to make it great,” he continued.
Trump has repeatedly exaggerated the scale of crime and unrest in US cities to justify deploying troops, orders that have been strongly opposed by local Democratic authorities.
Last month, Trump said he told Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that “some of these dangerous cities should be used as training sites for our military”.
Trump deployed thousands of National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles in June to assist police in their campaign to control protests and unrest sparked by his crackdown on illegal immigration.
The move was criticized by California Governor Gavin Newsom, a well-known opponent of Trump and widely believed to be a 2027 presidential candidate.
Trump’s remarks on San Francisco come after Marc Benioff, CEO of San Francisco-based tech giant Salesforce, apologized for calling for the National Guard to be deployed to the city.
Benioff, who was once a leftist, has shifted to the right in recent years, like other tech giants.
However, his support for military intervention in San Francisco sparked outrage and condemnation, prompting former friends to distance themselves from him.
San Francisco faces numerous problems, particularly the growing number of homeless people and drug addicts, and is often portrayed by right-wing media as embodying the decline of Democratic-controlled urban centers in the United States.
