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President Donald Trump has called off his planned “surge” of federal troops into San FranciscoIn a social media post this week, Trump said the surge had been planned for Saturday, Oct. 25, but after speaking with the city’s Democratic mayor, Daniel Lurie, he decided to “give him a chance to see if he can turn it around”Trump also noted that he spoke with several Silicon Valley CEOs, who also urged him to keep troops out of the Bay Area

Days after threatening to make San Francisco the latest U.S. city to face ICE and National Guard occupation, President Donald Trump is standing down.

In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, Oct. 23, Trump, 79, shared his narrative of how the decision was made.

“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,” he wrote. “I spoke to Mayor Lurie last night and he asked, very nicely, that I give him a chance to see if he can turn it around.”

“I told him I think he is making a mistake, because we can do it much faster, and remove the criminals that the Law does not permit him to remove,” Trump continued.

“The people of San Francisco have come together on fighting Crime, especially since we began to take charge of that very nasty subject,” he also wrote. “Great people like [NVIDIA CEO] Jensen Huang, [Salesforce CEO] Marc Benioff, and others have called saying that the future of San Francisco is great. They want to give it a ‘shot.’ Therefore, we will not surge San Francisco on Saturday. Stay tuned!”

Lurie, 48, also released a statement on Wednesday, saying that Trump had called him to address the situation.

“I told him the same thing I told our residents: San Francisco is on the rise. Visitors are coming back, buildings are getting leased and purchased, and workers are coming back to the office,” he said.

“We have work to do, and we 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.”

Lurie continued by giving Trump some recognition for the unexpected reversal, writing, “We appreciate that the president understands that we are the global hub for technology, and when San Francisco is strong, our country is strong. My team will continue to monitor the situation closely, and our city remains prepared for any scenario.”

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie speaks during a press conference on Oct. 23, 2025.

Justin Sullivan/Getty 

Since taking office in January, Lurie has taken a different approach than some of the Democratic leaders targeted by Trump. Unlike California Gov. Gavin Newsom or Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, he doesn’t fire back when the president insults his city and even avoids referencing him by name.

Earlier in the week, Bay Area residents were already protesting ICE raids and violent arrests that have been seen in other Trump-occupied blue cities like Chicago, Portland and Washington, D.C. But it seems Lurie’s conversation with the president has kept federal troops out of San Francisco for now.

Anti-ICE protestors gather in San Francisco on Oct. 23, 2025.

Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu/Getty

Trump’s mention of Silicon Valley leaders in his post is also notable. Huang and Benioff, two powerful CEOs, are major players in the U.S. tech market.

While Benioff told The New York Times earlier this month that he would support Trump sending federal troops to San Francisco — saying, “we don’t have enough cops” — he later backtracked and changed his mind.

He wrote on X on Oct. 17, “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,” Benioff, 61, continued. “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.”

Garry Tan, CEO of the tech startup incubator Y Combinator, also encouraged Trump to hold off on occupying San Francisco in a post on X.

“SF is on the way to resurgence and there is a lot more to be done, but Mayor Lurie and DA Jenkins are doing the work,” he wrote. “Let them cook.”