SAN FRANCISCO – Despite threats otherwise, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said Thursday morning that President Donald Trump would not be sending federal troops to The City.
Trump-Lurie phone call
In a news release, Lurie said that he spoke to Trump on the phone Wednesday night, where the president “told me clearly that he was calling off any plans for a federal deployment in San Francisco. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem reaffirmed that direction in our conversation this morning.”
Lurie said that in that conversation, he reiterated to Trump that 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 the president that he would “welcome continued partnerships with the FBI, DEA, ATF, and U.S. Attorney to get drugs and drug dealers off our streets, but having the military and militarized immigration enforcement in our city will hinder our recovery.”
Trump calls off ‘surge’Â
Trump confirmed Lurie’s statement, saying that while the federal government was preparing to “surge” San Francisco, “friends of mine” called him to ask him to refrain.
“I told him I think he is making a mistake,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Because we can do it much faster, and remove the criminals that the Law does not permit him to remove. I told him, “It’s an easier process if we do it, faster, stronger, and safer but, let’s see how you do?”Â
Still, Trump wrote that Lurie was making “substantial progress” in San Francisco and that he is giving him a chance to see if he can turn the city around.
In a statement, Democratic Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said “Lurie has demonstrated exceptional leadership in his steadfast commitment to the safety and well-being of San Franciscans.”
Lurie, unlike California Gov. Gavin Newsom, has not criticized Trump publicly, and barely even mentioned his name at news conferences.
His comments come after Trump suggested Sunday on Fox News that he would send the National Guard to San Francisco.
At a news conference of his own, Trump indicated that “Marc” had called him to stay out of San Francisco, implying that Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff had been part of the equation.
Benioff received a lot of heat last week, when he told the New York Times that he approved of Trump sending in the National Guard to San Francisco.Â
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Border Patrol arrives in AlamedaÂ
Lurie’s announcement also comes on the same day that about 100 Border Patrol officers were dispatched to Coast Guard Island Alameda to conduct some type of immigration enforcement, which likely will ramp up over the weekend.Â
Some leaders in other cities were unsure if the immigration operation would be called off for the entire Bay Area – which KTVU ultimately confirmed it was.Â
“I think you all have seen that, in San Francisco, Mayor Lurie received a call from Donald Trump indicating that, San Francisco was no longer on his list,” Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said at a news conference. “That does not mean we are not prepared. We have no idea. This is very fluid. And so there’s no information we can bring to you today to bring you up to date on what plans they have in place.”
Lee said that Border Patrol agents are being stationed at Coast Guard Island in Alameda, and Oakland is “fully prepared.”
She reiterated that the Oakland Police Department “does not, and will not assist with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That policy stands firm, and our assistance chief will outline exactly how we are upholding it under tremendous pressure.”
She then urged citizens not to “take the bait,” and said that “violent behavior toward anyone — police officers, people, individuals – that’s not tolerated in Oakland.”Â
Newsom said be wary
Newsom said at his own news conference to support Prop. 50 that California residents should be wary of Trump’s “pause” because Trump changes his “mind on an hourly basis.”
And he decided, Newsom said, for the moment, to back off, so as not to make a spectacle of San Francisco.
“I’m not thinking for a second that’s the end of this in California,” Newsom said. “Quite the contrary. This guy’s just winding up. If you think this story just ended, and it’s got a period or exclamation point, you know better. But I’m very pleased. I want to applaud the temperance of the mayor, and the job he did receiving that phone call with the president.”
As for Trump, Newsom uttered one final jab.
“I appreciate for the moment he came to his senses,” Newsom said. “This guy’s an arsonist, putting out his own fires. These are fires of his own making. This whole thing is theater, but it has real economic consequences and real emotional consequences.”