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In San Francisco, tech moguls turn the Trump tide of federal force

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National Heraldpublisher-detail-arrow
24th October, 2025 15:43 IST

President Donald Trump was reportedly geared up for a show of federal force in San Francisco — a city he's blasted as everything wrong with liberal governance. Then conversations with some of the Bay Area's most prominent tech leaders and the mayor changed his mind.

“I got a great call from some incredible people, some friends of mine, very successful people,” Trump told reporters on 23 October, Thursday, at the White House, specifically referencing Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, one of the world's most valuable tech companies, and Marc Benioff, CEO of software company Salesforce.

He said they told him San Francisco was working hard to reduce crime. “So we are holding off that surge, everybody. And we're going to let them see if they can do it,” Trump said.

He said he could change his mind if it “doesn't work out.”

Trump said the increased federal force had been planned for 25 October, Saturday.

He didn't specify whether he was just referring to National Guard troops, which he had threatened to send in, or if he would also halt a potential ramp-up of immigration enforcement. US Customs and Border Protection agents arrived at a US Coast Guard base near the city on Thursday morning, drawing protesters.

A careful approach to Trump

Outreach from billionaire CEOs clearly had a hand in the rare reprieve Trump handed a Democrat-led city. But Trump also credited mayor Daniel Lurie, who has worked to avoid direct confrontation with the Republican president since both took office in January.

Lurie has governed as an earnest and relentless cheerleader of San Francisco — and has repeatedly refused to weigh in on national politics or to mention Trump's name.

Instead, he's focused on local issues — public safety, luring back business and reversing the city's pandemic-fuelled decline. When Trump said repeatedly earlier this week that he'd send the National Guard into San Francisco to quell crime, Lurie noted that overall crime is down 26 per cent compared to last year and car break-ins are at a 22-year low.

“I told the mayor, ‘I love what you're doing, I respect it, and I respect the people that are doing it,’” Trump said, referencing a phone call the two had on 22 October, Wednesday.

An heir to the Levi Strauss fortune and anti-poverty philanthropist, Lurie is a centrist Democrat who had never held office until he ousted then-mayor London Breed in the November 2024 election. He has stated he has no other political aspirations than to improve the city and has said that he will work with anyone who wants to do the same.

“I told [President Trump] the same thing I told our residents," Lurie said at a Thursday afternoon news conference to address his call with the president. ”San Francisco is on the rise. Visitors are coming back, buildings are getting leased and purchased, and workers are coming back to the office.”

Lurie said he told Trump that he welcomes the city's “continued partnership” with the Drug Enforcement Agency and other federal authorities to get illegal narcotics off the streets and contribute to San Francisco's falling crime rates.

Fentanyl has been a major scourge on the city's streets.

“But having the military and militarised immigration enforcement in our city will hinder our recovery,” Lurie said.

City reacts with praise and scepticism

Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a San Francisco Democrat, praised Lurie on social media, saying that he “has demonstrated exceptional leadership.”

Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors head coach, called him an “absolute superstar” responsible for the good things happening in San Francisco.

The office of California governor Gavin Newsom, a former San Francisco mayor, said on X that, “Trump has finally, for once, listened to reason.”

Newsom, for his part, has repeatedly sparred with Trump, particularly after Trump deployed the California National Guard to Los Angeles against Newsom's wishes.

But others are sceptical that Trump will keep his word. Indeed, Trump said he was giving Lurie “a chance” to turn things around and said the federal government could “take criminals out” much faster.

“We cannot trust Trump,” said San Francisco supervisor Connie Chan, a progressive who runs politically left of Lurie but has a good working relationship with the mayor.

Another San Francisco supervisor who is more politically liberal than Lurie, Jackie Fielder, said in a statement that she disagrees with Lurie’s desire to coordinate more with federal law enforcement, saying that “it is a dangerous invitation to a fascist administration”.

CEOs make an appeal

Trump said he received “four or five calls” from business leaders urging him not to send federal forces and to let city leaders continue to work on reducing crime.

“They're the biggest people in the world, a lot of the high tech,” he said at the White House. “They want to do it. And I said, ‘I am so honoured to let you do it. And if it doesn’t work out, we’ll do it for you very quickly.””

Marc Benioff of Salesforce, who also owns Time magazine, told theNew York Timesearlier this month that he’d welcome National Guard troops to help quell crime ahead of his major annual business conference. He quickly faced backlash and then apologised, saying the troops weren't needed.

He confirmed to the Associated Press that he spoke to Trump but did not provide more details.

Nvidia declined to comment.

In announcing his decision to back off a surge, Trump did not mention other cities in the Bay Area, including Oakland, however, where he has also threatened to send in federal troops.

Meanwhile, like Lurie, some other Democrats who have also taken a less combative approach to Trump have avoided his focus as he deploys Guard troops around the country.

He has not, for example, focused on Detroit, despite his criticism of the city. Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer has tried to engage with Trump, including with White House visits.

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