Trump doubles down on sending troops to San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — President Donald Trump is doubling down on the idea of deploying the National Guard to San Francisco. The president, who raised the idea of federal intervention in SF last week during a White House press conference, resurfaced the idea over the weekend in a Fox News interview.

“We’re going to go to San Francisco next,” Trump told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on Sunday. “The difference 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.”

During the segment, Trump also hinted that he might be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act in order to deploy troops to SF.

“And don’t forget, and I haven’t used it, but don’t forget. I can use the Insurrection Act,” Trump told Bartiromo. “50% of the presidents, almost, have used that, and that’s unquestioned power,” Trump said.”

The Insurrection Act is a rarely invoked law that allows the president to deploy the military domestically for civilian law enforcement. In over 230 years, the act has been invoked 30 times, most recently in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush in response to the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles.

Trump has hinted at deploying federal troops to SF a number of times in recent months. His latest fixation with the city seems to have surfaced after Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff told The New York Times he supported the idea of the guard coming to SF.

Met with major backlash that at times overshadowed last week’s Dreamforce conference, Benioff has since walked back and apologized for his comments.

San Francisco city leaders, touting a citywide drop in crime including a historically low homicide rate, have been emphatic in saying that the National Guard are neither needed, nor wanted.

Without mentioning Trump by name, or the National Guard specifically, SF Mayor Daniel Lurie has repeatedly emphasized that safety is his administration’s “number one priority.” SF District Attorney Brooke Jenkins has said she “won’t hesitate” to bring charges against federal agents or troops if they violate the law.

“We don’t want you here. We don’t want your invading army or ski mask secret police,” said State Sen. Scott Wiener, a prominent SF Democrat, rumored to be eying a run for Nancy Pelosi’s seat.

Trump has already deployed the National Guard to several large, Democratic-lead cities, including Chicago, Portland and Los Angeles.