President Donald Trump said he has “unquestioned power” to deploy the National Guard and reaffirmed that San Francisco will be the next city to face federal intervention.
In an interview that aired Sunday on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Trump floated invoking the Insurrection Act – a centuries-old law that allows presidents to deploy troops on U.S. soil.
“Don’t forget I can use the Insurrection Act,” he said. “Fifty percent of the presidents almost have used that. And that’s unquestioned power. I choose not to, but I’m met constantly by fake politicians, politicians that think that they – you know, it’s not a part of the radical left movement to have safety. … These cities have to be safe.” Only about one-fourth of presidents have invoked the act.
Trump told host Maria Bartiromo that San Francisco is next, setting up another potential showdown with Democratic leaders over presidential authority and local control.
“The difference is, I think they want us in San Francisco,” he said. “San Francisco was truly one of the great cities of the world. And then, 15 years ago, it went wrong. It went woke.”
Soldiers with the California National Guard and U.S. Marines form a line outside the North Los Angeles Federal Building during the June No Kings protest. (Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle)
Trump has already deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles, Memphis, Chicago and Washington, D.C. After a trial in federal court, a judge ruled that the Los Angeles deployment violated the law because troops acted as police, a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act. Federal judges have also blocked his attempt to send troops to Portland, Ore.
Gov. Gavin Newsom was quick to fire back on Sunday.
“Fact check: Nobody wants you here,” he wrote on X. “You will ruin one of America’s greatest cities.”
Trump’s comments came amid a separate legal battle over his administration’s attempt to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago. A federal judge temporarily blocked that move, ruling there was no evidence of a “danger of rebellion.”
The White House has appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the decision “impinges on the president’s authority.”
National Guard soldiers stand by Friday as visitors check out the Ellipse in Washington, with the White House in the background. (Rahmat Gul/Associated Press)
In San Francisco, local officials have already made clear they don’t want federal troops in the city. Mayor Daniel Lurie said last week that the city’s police department is seeing progress in both recruitment and crime reduction.
“We have a lot of work to do, but I trust our local law enforcement,” Lurie said at a police academy news conference on Wednesday. “We in San Francisco are doing the work each and every day.”
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said city leaders “have this issue under control” and criticized the idea of federal troops as “resources being imposed upon our communities.”
Prominent tech figures have urged federal intervention in San Francisco. Elon Musk and investor David Sacks backed sending in federal forces, and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff initially echoed the idea before walking it back and pledging $1 million to support larger hiring bonuses for new police officers.
The Posse Comitatus Act bars using federally controlled troops – including a federalized National Guard – as local police. Only a formal Insurrection Act declaration creates a narrow exception for domestic law enforcement in extraordinary circumstances.
Trump’s remarks follow a series of actions directed at Democratic-led cities.
On Friday, the White House announced it would pause $11 billion in infrastructure projects in places such as San Francisco, New York and Baltimore, citing budget constraints. Critics called the move an act of political retaliation.
National Guard soldiers conduct a community safety patrol at Tom Lee Park in Memphis last Sunday. (George Walker IV/Associated Press)
Meanwhile, No Kings protests drew millions nationwide Saturday.
In response, Trump shared an AI-generated video depicting himself as “King Trump” flying a jet that dumps brown sludge resembling feces over demonstrators.
Newsom wrote in a separate post: “7 million Americans turned out yesterday to peacefully protest a monarchy. It was the biggest protest the country has ever seen. And despite the GOP’s best efforts to sow hatred and chaos, you stood firm in peace and unity. That’s what real patriotism looks like.”
Asked about the ongoing demonstrations by NPR, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson responded: “Who cares?”
This article originally published at Trump claims ‘unquestioned power’ to deploy troops to San Francisco under Insurrection Act.