OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ and JENIE HAR
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — President Donald Trump continues to threaten to send National Guard troops to San Francisco next, calling the California city crime-ridden and saying its residents want federal help.
But local and state leaders say that could not be further from the truth, noting that overall crime rates have dropped and the city has begun to change its depressed image brought on by the pandemic. Downtown residents and workers this week said they were puzzled and concerned by Trump's threat.
“This is a safe American city,” Mayor Daniel Lurie told The Associated Press last week. “We got it in San Francisco.”
The Republican president cited crime as justification for possibly sending troops to the city of about 830,000 people. He sent crime-fighting guards to Washington, DCwhere he has direct control over the National Guard, and Memphiswhere the Republican governor maintains their presence. Los Angeles was the first city where Trump deployed the Guard, arguing it was needed to protect federal buildings and agents as protesters resist mass arrests of immigrants. He has since said that they are needed in Chicago and PortlandOregon as well.
Portland residents and leaders were surprised by Trump's attention as he described the city as besieged by violent protests. In fact, the overnight protests were small and limited to the area near the federal immigration building. While there were some arrests for violence, the demonstrations were far less intense than those that rocked the city center in 2020 after the death of George Floyd.
In San Francisco, Trump also seems to rely on outdated picture a city often targeted by conservatives.
“The difference is I think they want us in San Francisco,” Trump said on Fox News Sunday. “San Francisco truly was one of the greatest cities in the world. And then, 15 years ago, something went wrong. It woke up.”
His comments angered and confused Kate Freudenberger, who works in retail.
“You walk around the city, it's peaceful, there's no uprising,” she said Tuesday morning, adding that immigration enforcement in San Francisco isn't as active as in other cities, “so there's really nothing for us to rally around.”
Marc Benioff, chief executive of San Francisco-based software giant Salesforce, caused a stir when he told the New York Times earlier this month that he was inviting Guard troops to help fight crime ahead of his major annual business conference. He has since apologized for his remarks, saying the conference was the “largest and safest” in its history and the Guard was not needed.
The city is coming out of the fight
San Francisco is still recovering from the coronavirus pandemic, which devastated the city center and brought new attention to street homelessness and the open drug trade. But signs indicate the city is on the rise. Artificial intelligence startups are snapping up office space and rental prices are rising. In San Francisco, office visits are up 21% from last year, and public transit ridership is at its highest level since the pandemic, according to location analytics platform Placer.ai.
This week, the Wall Street Journal said the city was emerging from a “loop of doom,” a story the mayor eagerly shared on social media.
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Visitors walk along the Fisherman's Wharf promenade Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
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Visitors walk along the Fisherman's Wharf promenade Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
The sidewalks became cleaner, and the tent cities practically disappeared from view. In the Tenderloin, one of the city's most troubled neighborhoods, groups of city and nonprofit workers Monday were helping schoolchildren cross the street, walking around picking up trash or offering advice to the homeless. It was a different image than during the pandemic, when hundreds of people camped out on sidewalks.
However, the Tenderloin is a problem area for public drug use and dealing, as are the Middle Market and Mission areas. However, overall crime this year is down more than 26% compared to the same period last year, according to the San Francisco Police Department. Vehicle break-ins, which are annoying tourists and locals alike, are at a 22-year low, Lurie said.
Lurie, a centrist Democrat who has tried to avoid confrontation with Trump by ignoring many of the president's comments, said Monday he would welcome more federal help to arrest drug traffickers and disrupt drug markets. But sending the Guard won't accomplish that, he said.
“The National Guard does not have the authority to arrest drug traffickers, and sending them to San Francisco will do nothing to get fentanyl off the streets or make our city safer,” Lurie said in a statement.
San Francisco voters in 2024 gave police power use drones, surveillance cameras and other technologies to fight crime. They also overthrown politically progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin for 2022 Election with Recall and installed by Brooke Jenkinswhich is considered much tougher on crime than its predecessor. Lurie has pushed to recruit and retain police officers, and applications for entry-level police jobs are up 40% from last year.
California leaders vow to fight back
Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration has said it will vigorously resist any troop deployment, as it did when Trump first ordered the California National Guard into Los Angeles against Newsom's wishes. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has vowed to “be in court within hours, if not minutes” if a federal rollout occurs.
Lawsuits by Democratic officials in Chicago and Portland have so far prevented troops from taking to the streets.
Libby Baxter, a retired nurse, said Trump sent the National Guard into Democratic cities to create “chaos and unrest” and she fears the same could happen in San Francisco.
“I believe that could happen if they come to San Francisco because we are a very tolerant community, but we don't do well when someone comes and tries to dictate or take over certain parts of our city,” she said.
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