Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has made a stunningly abrupt about-face, now saying he no longer supports bringing the National Guard to help enforce safety and order in San Francisco. <\/p>\n
\u201cHaving 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,\u201d Benioff wrote on X (opens in new tab)<\/a>. \u201c (opens in new tab)<\/a>My earlier comment (opens in new tab)<\/a> came from an abundance of caution around the event, and I sincerely apologize for the concern it caused.\u201d<\/p>\n Benioff\u2019s statement marks a 180-degree turn for the tech leader, who last Friday told the New York Times (opens in new tab)<\/a> that the National Guard could fill a shortage in police officers.<\/p>\n In the interview, he complained about the company being forced to pay for additional security for Dreamforce, its annual conference held at the Moscone Center. The annual event is the biggest business gathering in the city and drew roughly 45,000 visitors to San Francisco this week.<\/p>\n Benioff\u2019s reversal comes after high-profile philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs admonished him in a Wall Street Journal essay<\/a> on Friday, calling the billionaire\u2019s comments about his giving being a competition, of \u201cquiet corruption corroding modern philanthropy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn his eyes, generosity is an auction \u2014 and policy is the prize awarded to the highest bidder,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n The essay was published one day after Benioff\u2019s longtime associate and billionaire investor, Ron Conway, stepped down from the board of the Salesforce Foundation, sending a blistering email addressed to Benioff on the way out. <\/p>\n \u201cSan Francisco does not need a federal invasion because you don\u2019t like paying for extra security for Dreamforce,\u201d Conway wrote.<\/p>\n Mayor Daniel Lurie, whom Benioff specifically mentions in his new X post apologizing for his previous comments, said he personally spoke with Benioff after his initial incendiary comments were published. <\/p>\n \u201cThose are private conversations, but what I said to him is what I\u2019m saying to you all now, and that is that we are working relentlessly every day at public safety,\u201d Lurie said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not trying to change those people\u2019s minds,\u201d Lurie said about San Francisco\u2019s naysayers. \u201cThey\u2019re entitled to their own opinions, but they\u2019re not entitled to their own facts.\u201d<\/p>\n At the federal level, Trump renewed his rhetoric about cleaning up San Francisco with federal personnel at a press conference on Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to be strongly recommending at the request of government officials, which is always nice, that you start looking at San Francisco,\u201d Trump said at an event with FBI Director Kash Patel. \u201cI think we can make San Francisco \u2014 one of our great cities 10 years ago, 15 years ago, and now it\u2019s a mess.<\/p>\n On Thursday, A-list comedians Kumail Nanjiani and Ilana Glazer abruptly canceled their performances<\/a> at Dreamforce.<\/p>\n No word yet on whether Benioff\u2019s had second thoughts about deploying AI robocops in his erstwhile hometown \u2014 another unsettling idea he seemed pretty insistent about (opens in new tab)<\/a> in a Dreamforce panel earlier this week.<\/p>\n Though the Salesforce CEO reversed his rhetoric on sending federal troops, his company continues to work closely with the Trump administration.<\/p>\n