Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has called on President Trump to send the National Guard into San Francisco, citing public safety concerns ahead of his company’s major Dreamforce conference. The move marks a sharp political pivot for a tech mogul long associated with liberal causes.
Benioff told The New York Times that he has had to hire off‑duty officers to guard the convention area and insists San Francisco lacks sufficient police presence. “We don’t have enough cops, so if [the National Guard] can be cops, I’m all for it,” he said, adding, “I fully support the president.”
In recent years, Benioff’s companies and personal philanthropy have donated tens of millions to liberal causes. Between 2022 and 2024 alone, Salesforce gave more than $23 million to left‑leaning groups via the Tides Foundation.
Benioff’s sudden alignment with Trump has drawn strong backlash from San Francisco elected officials. District Attorney Brooke Jenkins warned she would hold any unlawful enforcement accountable. San Francisco supervisors and state lawmakers called the proposal “out of touch” and “a dangerous offer of federal overreach.”
Legal constraints also complicate the call. Federal law generally prohibits the use of military or Guard forces for domestic policing under the Posse Comitatus Act. Courts previously blocked Trump’s Guard deployments in other cities when troops were assigned police functions.
