President Donald Trump announced that he is calling off plans to “surge” federal forces into San Francisco, saying he decided to stand down after a personal conversation with the city’s mayor, Daniel Lurie.
The president had floated the idea of deploying the National Guard and federal law enforcement into the city to address its widely publicized issues with crime, homelessness, and public disorder.
But in a post on Truth Social, Trump said he would pause the deployment after hearing from local leaders and prominent tech executives who expressed optimism about the city’s recovery efforts under Mayor Lurie.
Trump: “Let’s See How You Do”
“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,” Trump wrote Thursday morning.
“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,” Trump continued. “I told him I think he’s making a mistake, because we can do it much faster, and remove the criminals that the Law does not permit him to remove. I told him, ‘It’s an easier process if we do it — faster, stronger, and safer — but, let’s see how you do?’”
Trump also credited “great people like Jensen Huang, Marc Benioff, and others” for calling him personally to vouch for San Francisco’s future.
“The people of San Francisco have come together on fighting crime, especially since we began to take charge of that very nasty subject,” Trump said. “They want to give it a shot. Therefore, we will not surge San Francisco on Saturday. Stay tuned!”
White House: Trump Showing He’ll Work “Across the Aisle”
At a Thursday press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump’s decision to delay the operation shows his willingness to cooperate with local Democratic leaders when it comes to tackling urban decay and violent crime.
“He is genuinely interested in this effort to make our streets safer, to make our cities safe and clean again. And he heard from the mayor last night who told him that he is going to earnestly try to make his city better on his own.”
Leavitt added that Trump made clear to Mayor Lurie that if the city’s situation worsens, “the federal government may have to step in.”
Context: Trump’s “Surge” Strategy to Clean Up U.S. Cities
The president’s proposal to “surge” into San Francisco came amid his broader campaign to crack down on crime and homelessness in major American cities.
Since returning to office in January, Trump has already deployed National Guard units to Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Memphis to assist in local law enforcement operations, drawing both praise and criticism.
Mayor Lurie’s Response
Mayor Daniel Lurie publicly addressed their conversation.
“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,” Lurie said. “In that conversation, the president told me clearly that he was calling off any plans for a federal deployment in San Francisco. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem reaffirmed that direction in our conversation this morning.”
While Trump’s decision to delay the surge may ease tensions for now, the White House made clear that the option remains on the table if Lurie’s administration cannot curb crime and homelessness quickly.
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