Salesforce co-founder and CEO Marc Benioff has apologized for backing President Donald Trump’s proposals to send the National Guard to San Francisco, where the company is based and holds its annual conference.
Benioff had already made an abrupt volte-face on his controversial position, which attracted widespread condemnation from the US tech capital’s establishment.
Going a step further following the SaaS CRM provider’s Dreamforce event, Benioff said sorry for backing Trump’s position on sending in troops.
In a statement on Elon Musk-owned social media platform X, Benioff said: “Having listened closely to my fellow San Franciscans and our local officials, and after the largest and safest Dreamforce in our history, I do not believe the National Guard is needed to address safety in San Francisco. My earlier comment came from an abundance of caution around the event, and I sincerely apologize for the concern it caused.”
The statement was a stark contrast to an interview given to the New York Times in which Benioff backed Trump’s position of sending in troops to the Democrat-run West Coast cities. “I fully support the president,” Benioff was reported as saying. “I think he’s doing a great job.”
Trump’s stance prompted widespread criticism. SF district attorney Brooke Jekins wrote on X: “@KristiNoem and @realDonaldTrump have turned so-called public safety and immigration enforcement into a form of government sponsored violence against US citizens, families, and ethnic groups.”
State Senator Scott Wiener wrote: “We neither need nor want an illegal military occupation in San Francisco.”
Later on X, Benioff said: “It’s my firm belief that our city makes the most progress when we all work together in a spirit of partnership. I remain deeply grateful to Mayor Lurie, SFPD, and all our partners, and am fully committed to a safer, stronger San Francisco.”
Benioff has previously held “progressive” positions on social issues, expressing support for greater racial diversity in the tech workforce, in the context of the Black Lives Matter campaign, and a plan to save a trillion trees to help combat climate change and bolster biodiversity.
Benioff was even reported to have his own Hindu spiritual guru to help him achieve balance in life.
Maybe Benioff’s apology is a heightened awareness of negative karma, but Silicon Valley publicist Sylvia Paull pointed out that the tech leader’s position might have “hurt his sales.”
In addition, she said his apology suggests he might be “afraid he’s going to lose his legacy.” ®