SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — After calling for President Trump to send the National Guard into San Francisco earlier this week, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff seems to now be taking a softer approach.
It all comes as the tech billionaire’s highly anticipated Dreamforce convention is set to kick off in the city on Tuesday.
In a new post on ‘X’, Benioff appears to back off his call for National Guard troops to be sent to San Francisco.
The Salesforce CEO wrote in part:
“When I was recently asked about federal resources, my point was this: each year, to make Dreamforce as safe as possible for 50,000 attendees, we add 200 additional law-enforcement professionals– coordinated across city, state, and other partners. It’s proof that collaboration works and a reminder that the city needs more resources to keep San Franciscans safe year-round.”
Benioff had made his original comments in a recent interview with the New York Times – just days ahead of his Dreamforce conference.
Those remarks created a firestorm among local city leaders.
“San Francisco is on the rise,” Mayor Daniel Lurie Sunday. “I trust our local law enforcement. Crime is down 30%. We have a long way to go but I trust our local law enforcement to do their job and keep Salesforce and Dreamforce people safe.”
MORE: SF DA fires back after Salesforce CEO suggests Trump send National Guard to city
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, who sat down with ABC7 News Friday, also took time to respond.
“To invite chaos into our city. No, Mr. Benioff needs to know that that’s not the solution. And I want the president to know we don’t want his version of law and order,” Jenkins said.
Benioff’s statements have gotten a lot of attention outside of San Francisco too.
That includes from Elon Musk, who on Sunday took to X to share several thoughts on the city, including how “SF downtown is a drug zombie apocalypse.”
Musk also shared a video made by local drug recovery advocate Tom Wolf.
“When is enough enough?” Wolf said.
In an interview Sunday, Wolf told ABC7 News he doesn’t agree with all of Benioff’s original sentiments.
But he does think there are elements of truth to them, especially around issues of drug addiction and homelessness.
“Last year, SFPD arrested all the drug dealers in San Francisco. They made 900 felony drug dealing arrests. Yet the drug market remains. Why is that?” said Wolf.
In order to fix the problem, Wolf thinks certain laws and policies need to be changed.
And if it takes federal help to clean up San Francisco’s streets, Wolf says he might support it depending on what it looks like.
“Nobody wants the federal troops to come. Nobody wants the national guard in San Francisco. But at the same time, we have to do our job,” he said.
Marc Benioff cancel’s Monday’s press conference to kick off Dreamforce; promises $15 billion San Francisco
After taking a strong stance asking President Donald Trump to send the National Guard into San Francisco late last week, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff seems to back off from his comments.
Dreamforce is the largest conference in San Francisco. This year, they are projecting about 50,000 people in attendance and instead of speaking about what this will mean for San Francisco’s economy. Benioff’s comments have now created a firestorm among city leaders that has gained national attention.
“Oh, I think that the press conference was definitely canceled because of weather. Whether or not it’s the weather we see outside or the political storm clouds that have gathered around these statements and knowing that every reporter there was going to be asking about this,” said Phil Matier, ABC7 Political Insider.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff canceled Monday’s press conference to kick off Dreamforce due to “weather” as rain approached the area. This comes days after advocating for President Trump to send the National Guard into San Francisco to help fight crime. He made the comments during an interview with the New York Times.
“The fact of the matter is that the National Guard or the military do not make arrests. That’s not what they do. So, they are not going to enhance the number of police needed in San Francisco. Benioff says what he was trying to make the point on is that San Francisco is still understaffed,” said Matier.
On Sunday, Benioff tempered his comments commending San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, “for his leadership and the tremendous progress, he’s made in his first nine months” and added, “crime is down 30% across the city, and the city is moving in the right direction.”
We asked Dreamforce attendees:
Luz Pena: “Do you feel safe in the city?”
Julian Coldrey: “I always have felt safe.”
“Generally, the city will safe,” said Kamaran Sheikh, a Dreamforce attendee.
Matier pointed to Salesforce having contracts with the U.S. Defense Department as a potential influence for his latest support for the president.
“On one hand, Benioff uses his power to leverage what he wants to get the convention here and have it run smoothly. On the other hand, he’s consistently had the convention here. He’s criticized San Francisco repeatedly at the beginning of the convention and at the end of it, praised it for the efforts it’s doing and then promised to come back next year. Let’s not forget he’s a big giver. He’s a big giver to the school systems. He’s a big giver to the hospitals. Right now, he’s also going to be a big giver to Donald Trump,” said Matier.
Truth is San Francisco loves what Dreamforce means to the city. The event is expected to generate over $130 million in local revenue.
“Dreamforce means so much for our city. Because of course, this company has picked our city not only to have their headquarters here, but to have their convention here. And we’re so indebted to that,” said Alex Bastian, president of SF’s Hotel Council.
San Francisco supervisor Matt Dorsey represents the district where Salesforce’s three-day conference is set to happen and doesn’t view the national guard as the best use of resources.
“It’s certainly not the kind of thing that’s going to address any of the drug dealing or any of the public drug use. We need a fully staffed police department. And the biggest problem we have in public safety right now in San Francisco is that we don’t have that. We’re 500 cops down,” said Supervisor Dorsey.
At the end of Marc Benioff’s comments on X this weekend, he said he was “grateful” for the progress Mayor Lurie, and all other partners have made to keep the city safe and said Salesforce will support the Mayor through the “Partnership for San Francisco, and we’re investing $15 billion in our city over the next five years because we believe deeply in its future.”
Benioff is also promised $1 million to support larger hiring bonuses for new police officers and explained what he meant by Friday’s comments, “When I was recently asked about federal resources, my point was this: each year, to make Dreamforce as safe as possible for 50,000 attendees, we add 200 additional law-enforcement professionals – coordinated across city, state, and other partners.”
“That is the kind of solution I think we can all agree on,” said Supervisor Dorsey.
Dreamforce is set to run from Tuesday through Thursday.
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