Washington DC - President Donald Trump threatened to deploy federal troops to San Francisco during a Wednesday press conference with FBI Director Kash Patel, triggering outrage from the city's leadership.

Trump spent the press conference raging about supposed out-of-control crime in San Francisco to justify his latest crackdown on a Democratic-led city.

"I'm going to be strongly recommending, at the request of government officials, which is always nice, that you start looking at San Francisco," Trump said to Kash Patel during the press conference.

"I think we can make San Francisco – one of our great cities 10 years ago, 15 years ago, and now it's a mess – and we have great support in San Francisco, so I'd like to recommend that for inclusion maybe in your next group."

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"You'll get great support," Trump told Patel. "Every American deserves to live in a community where they're not afraid of being mugged, murdered, robbed, raped, assaulted or shot."

Trump has previous deployed federal troops to Portland, Chicago, Washington DC and Los Angeles under the guise of crime fighting, despite repeated legal challenges and widespread condemnation.

San Francisco, a highly progressive city that hasn't had a Republican mayor since 1964, has long been suspected of being on Trump's hit-list.

In response, California State Senator Scott Wiener clarified in a statement that no government officials have requested federal occupation, and declared that San Francisco "neither needs nor wants Trump's personal army on our streets."

"We don't need Trump's authoritarian crackdown in our city," Wiener said. "Bottom line: Stay the hell out of San Francisco!"

Hours before Trump's comments, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie held a press conference detailing his work to improve public safety, shore up law enforcement and increase police recruitment.

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California Governor Gavin Newsom used the opportunity to troll Trump by pointing out that he had been San Francisco's mayor 15 years ago, when the president claimed it was still a "great city."

"Crime is down in San Francisco thanks to [California Highway Patrol's] ongoing efforts with local partners to seize illicit drugs and remove firearms from our streets," Newsom said on X.

"With strong state investments and community partnerships, our work to make our neighborhoods safer and more secure is paying off."