Musk calls for federal troops in San Francisco, Benioff softens stance

Like sales force Hosting tens of thousands of people in San Francisco for the annual Dreamforce conference, CEO Marc Benioff found himself in the middle of local controversy over a national issue.

One report Benioff appeared eager to have President Donald Trump’s company send federal troops to his hometown, The New York Times reported Friday, inserting itself into a national debate about whether the president should call in the National Guard to various Democratic-led cities that Trump has vilified.

The Trump administration recently deployed the National Guard to Portland and Chicago, sparking protests and lawsuits.

“We don’t have enough police, so if they can be police, I support that, too,” Benioff told the Times.

Benioff later softened his comments: write to x He said Sunday that security is “first and foremost the responsibility of our city and state leaders.” But a heated online conversation had already begun.

Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk, who moved to Texas from California, said federal intervention was needed to fight crime in San Francisco. In posts on social network X on Sunday, he said it “will happen.” the only solution At this point” and “nothing else has worked and will not work.” The day before, Musk had described downtown San Francisco as a “drug zombie.” doomsday“

Musk still has big business in and around San Francisco. X-owned AI startup xAI has a sizable office in the city, and brain-computer interface company Neuralink recently leased a large property in South San Francisco. Tesla has moved to Texas, but the automaker’s engineering headquarters remains in Palo Alto, just south of San Francisco.

Musk’s call for US troops came in response to social media posts by Tom Wolf, who described himself as a “homeless recovering addict in San Francisco” and an “addiction recovery advocate.”

““If you want to keep federal troops out of San Francisco, take out the organized drug dealers and 80% of the problems will go away.” Wolf wrote. “If you don’t, you reap what you sow.”

Musk shared Wolf’s post to his more than 227 million followers listed on X.

Neither Benioff nor Musk immediately responded to requests for comment. CNBC also reached out to Tesla, xAI and Salesforce for comment but did not hear back.

Local officials have been vocally opposed to the idea of ​​bringing in federal troops.

Brooke Jenkins, San Francisco district attorney. wrote to x “I can’t stay silent anymore,” Benioff said after his interview.

Jenkins accused Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem of turning “so-called public safety and immigration enforcement into a form of government-sponsored violence against U.S. citizens, their families, and ethnic groups,” and said that if anyone uses excessive force or unlawfully harasses residents, “I will not hesitate to do my job and hold you accountable, just like I do with other law violators every day.”

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie defeated incumbent London Breed in November in part by promising to clean up San Francisco streets. wrote On Sunday at X “crime is down 30% and tent camping is at an all-time low.” He did not directly address Benioff or Dreamforce, but noted that tens of thousands of people come to the city for concerts and events like Fleet Week and that public safety is critical.

“San Francisco is on the rise,” he wrote

In comments following Benioff’s interview with the Times, the Salesforce CEO praised Lurie’s efforts to increase police hiring and protect law enforcement.

Dreamforce, which started in 2003, will start on Tuesday and continue through Thursday. The event is held at the Moscone Center and covers most of the area around downtown San Francisco.

“We don’t need the National Guard,” Garry Tan, CEO of startup incubator Y Combinator, wrote on X, but he used his post to go after Chesa Boudin and progressives who are a frequent local target for tech enthusiasts.

Boudin was district attorney in San Francisco until 2022; He was removed from office in a recall election after critics criticized what they saw as his reluctance to prosecute violent criminals. Tan said that the problem is now with the judges.

“We need new judges who are not tough Chesa Boudin-style activists working to keep drug dealers out of jail, even though the police, the district attorney, and the people of SF want them in jail,” he wrote. “It’s that simple in SF.”

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