President Donald Trump over the weekend continued to paint San Francisco as a hotbed of crime, and suggested in a Fox News interview, once again, that he planned to send federal troops to the city by the bay.
“I think they want us in San Francisco,” Trump told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures.” “San Francisco was truly one of the great cities of the world and then 15 years ago it went wrong. It went woke.”
Throughout this month, Trump has toyed with the idea of sending troops to San Francisco, referring to the city as a “mess.” But on Sunday, Trump reiterated his desire to send troops to the city, and aired out loud the idea of using the Insurrection Act on Democrat-majority cities.
“I could use the Insurrection Act,” Trump said. “That’s unquestioned power. I chose not to, I’d rather do this.”
Under current law, U.S. military is forbidden from enforcing civilian law inside the United States. However, the Insurrection Act gives the president authority to use the military against U.S citizens to suppress rebellion or domestic violence.
Trump’s comments came a day after millions of people across the country protested as part of the more than 2,700 “No Kings” demonstrations that were held Saturday.
It’s unclear if deployment plans have been made to the Northern California city. A spokesperson for the White House did not respond to questions specifically about plans for troops in San Francisco.
Trump dispatched National Guard troops to respond to protests in Los Angeles earlier this year, and has also sent troops to Washington, D.C., Memphis, Portland, and Chicago. The protests have primarily been in response to federal immigration raids that have resulted in arrests made by masked agents in the streets, near businesses and in courthouses.
So far, Trump has deployed troops to Democrat-led cities, which he’s claimed are “unsafe cities.” Crime rates in San Francisco have dropped in the past year, according to police crime data.
But Trump’s use of troops has sparked pushback and protest from residents and local officials.
In Chicago, U.S. District Judge April Perry accused Trump administration lawyers of exaggeration regarding their claims of violence and trying to equate “protests for riots.”
Trump’s attorneys on Friday asked the Supreme Court to weigh in to allow the administration to continue to send troops to Chicago.
The White House released a statement Monday, defending the general use of troops in U.S. cities, pointing out a drop in crime in Washington, D.C., after troops were deployed there.
“The President’s actions in DC have been tremendously successful, with even Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser highlighting the significant reduction in crime as a result of the operation, and Memphis operations have already gotten gang members off the streets and recovered missing children,” Abigail Jackson, White House spokesperson, said in the statement. “San Francisco Democrats should look at the tremendous results in DC and Memphis and listen to fellow Democrat Mayor Bowser and welcome the President in to clean up their city.”
On Sunday, Trump claimed that federal troop deployment in San Francisco would be welcomed, although several state and local officials have harshly criticized the idea.
San Francisco Dist. Atty. Brooke Jenkins earlier this month vowed to prosecute federal law enforcement officials “when they cross the bounds of the law.”
“I can’t be silent any longer,” Jenkins wrote in a post on X. “[Sec. of Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem] and [President Donald Trump] have turned so-called public safety and immigration enforcement into a form of government sponsored violence against U.S. citizens, families, and ethnic groups.”
The post came after Salesforce Chief Executive Marc Benioff in an interview said he would welcome Trump sending National Guard troops to San Francisco. A few days later, he backtracked on his comments after getting criticized by city leaders and fellow tech executives.
“If you come to San Francisco and illegally harass our residents, use excessive force or cross any other boundaries that the law proscribes, I will not hesitate to do my job and hold you accountable just like I do other violators of the law every single day,” Jenkins wrote.
On Thursday, former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi rejected claims that the city wanted to see troops on the ground.
“San Francisco does not want or need Donald Trump’s chaos,” Pelosi said in a statement. “Our City takes great pride in the steps we’ve taken to significantly increase public safety and reduce crime in partnership with community and state officials — without the interference of a President seeking headlines.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has taken to publicly sparring with the President on social media and in interviews, poked fun at Trump’s statement that San Francisco had been “one of our great cities” 10 or 15 years ago, pointing out that Newsom was mayor at that time.
“Why, thank you!” Newsom wrote on X.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
