Trump eyes San Francisco for next troop deployment: "We're going to make it great"
Washington DC - Donald Trump threatened to send troops to San Francisco, in an interview that aired Sunday, as he looks to push the US military into more Democratic-controlled cities.
The comments come as the president has already sent National Guard into Los Angeles, Washington, and Memphis, often against the wishes of local leaders, and as judges have halted their deployment in Chicago and Portland.
"Next, we're going to go to San Francisco," he told Fox News.
"The difference is, I think they want us in San Francisco. San Francisco was truly one of the great cities of the world. And then 15 years ago, it went wrong.
"We're going to go to San Francisco and we're going to make it great."
Trump has repeatedly exaggerated the extent of crime and unrest in US cities to justify ordering deployments that have largely been opposed by local Democratic leaders.
He suggested late last month that American cities be used as "training grounds" for the country's military forces.
The first deployment to Los Angeles, in June, came after sometimes unruly protests over widespread immigration raids that critics said appeared to target people based largely on their race or the language they were speaking.
That deployment was roundly criticized by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who frequently butts heads with the Republican billionaire, and who is widely expected to be a presidential candidate in 2027.
Trump announces National Guard will head to San Francisco
Trump's comments on San Francisco come after Marc Benioff, the boss of San Francisco-based tech giant Salesforce, apologized after calling for the National Guard to be sent to the city.
Benioff, a one-time darling of the left, has shifted right in recent years, along with other tech titans.
Nevertheless, his support for a military intervention in San Francisco sparked fury and a public backlash that saw former friends distance themselves from him.
San Francisco has a particular place in the Republican worldview.
The city, which has well-documented problems with homelessness and drug addiction, frequently features on right-leaning cable channels as an unparalleled example of what they see as the demise of America's urban centers under Democratic Party control.
Cover photo: Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP