Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has publicly called on President Donald Trump to deploy National Guard troops to San Francisco to address the city’s mounting crime crisis.
Benioff made the striking request during an interview with the New York Times while traveling on his private plane to San Francisco for the company’s annual Dreamforce conference.
The tech executive revealed he was forced to hire hundreds of off-duty police officers to provide security for the event due to serious safety concerns.
“We don’t have enough cops, so if they can be cops, I’m all for it,” Benioff stated, referring to potential National Guard deployment in the city.
The CEO’s comments come as San Francisco continues to struggle with public safety issues that have plagued the city for years.
The situation has become so dire that major corporations are now taking extraordinary security measures for their events.
The Dreamforce conference represents one of San Francisco’s largest annual business gatherings, attracting thousands of attendees from around the world.
The fact that Salesforce felt compelled to hire such a large private security force underscores the severity of the city’s current public safety challenges.
Benioff’s willingness to speak out publicly about the crime problem marks a significant moment for the tech industry, The Post Millennial (TPM) emphasized.
Silicon Valley executives have historically been reluctant to criticize San Francisco’s leadership on public safety issues, despite widespread concerns among business owners and residents. However, Benioff’s call for military intervention faces significant legal obstacles.
TPM further noted that last month, a federal judge ruled that Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles violated the Posse Comitatus Act.
This federal law explicitly prohibits the use of military forces for domestic law enforcement purposes.
The ruling represented a major legal setback for the Trump administration’s efforts to deploy military personnel in American cities, per the outlet.
The judge’s decision sent a clear message that such deployments could not proceed without facing serious constitutional challenges.
Despite the legal setback, the Trump administration has continued sending National Guard forces to other cities.
In recent weeks, troops have been dispatched to Portland and Chicago to protect federal officers during ongoing immigration-related protests.
These deployments have triggered additional legal challenges from state and local government officials.
President Trump previously indicated his willingness to send military forces to multiple Democrat-controlled cities.
In September, Trump specifically mentioned San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles as targets for potential intervention.
“I told Pete we should use some of these dangerous cities as training for our military, our national guard,” Trump said at the time, describing them as “very unsafe places” that his administration will straighten out.
Pete Hegseth serves as War Secretary in the Trump administration.
The president’s comments suggested a dual purpose for potential deployments: addressing urban crime while simultaneously providing realistic training environments for military personnel.
TPM added that Benioff, who has donated to candidates from both political parties throughout his career, quickly drew sharp criticism from San Francisco officials for his remarks.
The backlash was swift and forceful from the city’s Democratic leadership.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins issued a strong rebuke, stating she “can’t be silent any longer.”
Jenkins accused Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem of transforming public safety and immigration enforcement into what she called government-sponsored violence.
“I am responsible for holding criminals accountable, and that includes holding government and law enforcement officials too, when they cross the bounds of the law,” Jenkins wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Jenkins issued a direct warning to federal authorities, making clear she would not tolerate what she considers illegal federal action within her jurisdiction.
Her statement represented one of the strongest rebukes from a local prosecutor to the federal government’s deployment strategy.
“If you come to San Francisco and illegally harass our residents, use excessive force or cross any other boundaries that the law prescribes, I will not hesitate to do my job and hold you accountable just like I do other violators of the law every single day,” Jenkins continued in her social media post.
