After repeatedly threatening to send National Guard troops to San Francisco, President Donald Trump said Thursday that he has called off plans for a federal “surge” to fight crime in the city, though a separate deployment of federal immigration authorities to the East Bay appeared to be continuing as planned.
“The Federal Government was preparing to ‘surge’ San Francisco, California, on Saturday, but friends of mine who live in the area called last night to ask me not to go forward with the surge in that the Mayor, Daniel Lurie, was making substantial progress,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
Trump specifically credited conversations with Bay Area tech leaders, including Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, for his decision.
“They want to give it a ‘shot,’” Trump said. “Therefore, we will not surge San Francisco on Saturday. Stay tuned!”
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In a statement this morning, Lurie said Trump agreed to halt a federal deployment in a phone conversation on Wednesday night.
“In that conversation, the president told me clearly that he was calling off any plans for a federal deployment in San Francisco,” Lurie said. “Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem reaffirmed that direction in our conversation this morning.”
It remained unclear early Thursday afternoon whether Trump’s apparent promise to hold off the National Guard would also mean withdrawing the immigration authorities already deployed to the East Bay. Earlier in the day, Customs and Border Protection agents had descended to Coast Guard Island in Alameda, where they clashed with protesters gathered at the base.
In a news conference Thursday afternoon, Lurie said the president gave no indication whether his pledge to halt the planned surge in San Francisco included other parts of the Bay Area.
“All I can tell you is what the president said to me last night, and that he’s calling off the potential surge,” said Lurie, adding that San Francisco remains prepared should the president change his mind.
Mayor Barbara Lee speaks during a press conference at City Hall in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. The conference addressed the arrival of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers to Coast Guard Island in Alameda. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said Thursday she had spoken with Lurie about his call with the president, but Lee did not appear to have come away with any clarity about Trump’s intentions.
“That does not mean we are not prepared,” Lee said at a news conference, where she was joined by Rep. Lateefah Simon and a host of other elected leaders in the region. “We are moving forward with our plans.”
Trump’s recent threats to send the National Guard to San Francisco came after Benioff, who has been a significant donor to progressive causes, told the New York Times a few weeks ago that he would welcome Trump’s deployment of federal troops to help reduce crime in San Francisco.
“We don’t have enough cops, so if they can be cops, I’m all for it,” Benioff told the Times. But his remarks ahead of his company’s annual Dreamforce conference in the city sparked a backlash, and last Friday, he walked them back.
“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,” Benioff posted on the social media platform X.
In San Francisco, Oakland and most of the Bay Area, crime rates have been on the decline after spikes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump now crediting Benioff and Huang for his decision to call off the deployment shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise, said Larry Gerston, a professor emeritus of politics and public policy at San Jose State University.
“These guys are not only heavy hitters as employers, but they have been converted to supporting Trump, and shown that support through very generous donations to him, his campaigns and his projects,” Gerston said.
“Trump is so transactional,” he continued. “You do what you can for me, and I do what I can for it.”
Nvidia declined to comment. Salesforce did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gerston added that Lurie’s deep ties to San Francisco’s tech community, as a longtime leader of a powerful local philanthropic group, may have been key in helping persuade Trump to change course. Unlike other Democratic mayors of cities across the country that Trump has targeted for troop deployments, Lurie has gone out of his way not to antagonize the president, even declining to utter his name in public statements.
San Francisco Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the former House Speaker, who had criticized Trump’s suggestion of sending National Guard troops to the city as “an appalling abuse,” praised Lurie on Thursday for his role in talking the president out of it.
“I salute Mayor Lurie for standing up for our City and reinforcing San Francisco’s strength, optimism and recovery,” Pelosi posted on X.
California Sen. Alex Padilla, meanwhile, said on X that Trump “backed down in San Francisco after millions of people took to the streets to peacefully protest his authoritarian playbook and defend our democracy.”
Still, as uncertainty loomed around the extent of planned federal law enforcement presence across the bay, Lee and others urged protesters not to be baited into any interactions with federal agents that could invite Trump to escalate the situation.
Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson speaks during a press conference at City Hall in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. The conference addressed the arrival of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers to Coast Guard Island in Alameda. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
“We know that the expectation is that Oakland is going to do something to let them make us the example,” Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones-Dickson said at the news conference. “But that’s not what we’re doing.”
And with CBP agents having already arrived, Oakland police advised the public Thursday to call 911 if a supposed law enforcement agent without identification arrived at their homes. An immigration attorney told families to have identifying documents — such as passports — ready to go, and to make copies.
“Minimize your risk,” said Lourdes Martinez, an attorney with Centro Legal de la Raza. “Just remember: we are living under difficult times where ICE is allowed to racially profile.”
In San Jose, Mayor Matt Mahan said that the White House made “the right decision” to stop the planned surge in the Bay Area.
“And I urge our residents, as you stand up for our democratic values today and every day, to do so safely and peacefully,” Mahan said. “Don’t give this administration a single reason to turn their sights to the South Bay.”
Santa Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong encouraged people to check in on their neighbors and utilize resources such as the Rapid Response Network.
“People are afraid, students are not going to school, parents are not going to work,” Duong said. “Witnesses are not coming forward to cooperate with police. Folks are not coming to our emergency rooms. They are not reaching out for care.”
Originally Published: October 23, 2025 at 10:57 AM PDT