President Donald Trump reiterated his intention to deploy National Guard troops to San Francisco on Sunday, going as far as claiming he may invoke the Insurrection Act if needed.
Speaking to Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo in an interview pubbed on Oct. 19, the president said in no uncertain terms that he was planning to send troops to San Francisco.
“We’re going to go to San Francisco,” Trump said in an interview for the “Sunday Morning Futures” show. “The difference (as opposed to Chicago) is, I think they want us in San Francisco. San Francisco was truly one of the great cities of the world, and then 15 years ago, it went wrong. It went woke.
“Our cities that are Democrat-run – exclusively just about – are unsafe cities. They’re a disaster, and I’m going to save the cities,” Trump said.
National Guard troops have already been deployed in United States cities including Los Angeles and Chicago. Trump has also stated his intent to send troops to Portland, Ore., but a judge has blocked their deployment so far. The president’s most recent comments come a day after Americans took to the streets in massive numbers for “No Kings” protests in the Bay Area and across the country.
Trump also broached invoking the Insurrection Act, a rarely used but extremely powerful presidential tool that allows  the president to use military force within the United States and against Americans.
“And don’t forget, and I haven’t used it, but don’t forget. I can use the Insurrection Act. 50% of the presidents, almost, have used that, and that’s unquestioned power,” Trump said.
According to the Brennan Center, the Insurrection Act can be used “to suppress rebellion or domestic violence or to enforce the law in certain situations.” It has been invoked 30 times in the country’s history, most recently in 1992 during the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles.
Trump’s threats to send National Guard troops to San Francisco have already stirred controversy. In the leadup to Salesforce’s Dreamforce convention, company CEO Mark Benioff, a longtime Democratic supporter, said he supported Trump’s plan and welcomed the idea of sending troops to San Francisco. Backlash to the comments was swift and Benioff eventually issued an apology on Friday.
“My earlier comment came from an abundance of caution around the event, and I sincerely apologize for the concern it caused,” Benioff wrote on X.com. “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.”
Despite Benioff’s reversal, the conversation around a possible National Guard deployment in San Francisco is clearly intensifying.
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This article originally published at Trump promises to deploy troops to SF: ‘We’re going to go to San Francisco’.