Donald Trump backtracks on plans to ‘surge’ military to San Francisco

President Donald Trump had threatened to send American military personnel to San Francisco, California, for weeks.

Trump, however, abruptly changed his mind on Thursday, saying he would not advance further with a “surge” of troops toward the Democratic stronghold, at least for the time being.

On his online platform Truth Social, Trump wrote that the Federal Government was “surge” San Francisco, California, on Saturday after friends in the area called last night to ask him not to proceed with the surge.

The Republican leader said that the two tech titans, Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang and Salesforce cofounder Marc Benioff, had persuaded him to change his mind.

Trump continued, adding that he had spoken with Democratic Party candidate Daniel Lurie, the mayor of San Francisco. The president made the conceit that Thursday’s decision might not be his final word on the subject when they reacted to their request, though.

Trump criticized Lurie in his post, saying, “He very nicely, that I give him a chance to see if he can turn things around.”

Because we can move much more quickly and remove criminals than the Law allows him to remove, I told him, “I think he is making a mistake.” Let’s see how you do, I told him, “It’s an easier process if we do it, faster, stronger, and safer.”

“Cruel, un-American tactics”

Trump has spearheaded a campaign of mass deportations that has sparked protests and concerns about human rights violations since taking office in January for a second term.

Trump has responded to those protests by sending National Guard troops to major cities with the ostensible goal of defending federal immigration agents.

However, critics have repeatedly warned against the military deployments, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, because they increase tensions and violate the law.

Among those critics was Lurie, one of the Levi Strauss jeans company’s heirs.

The mayor called on San Francisco’s citizens to stand united at a press conference on Wednesday as the city prepared for a planned deployment.

This federal administration has already used unjustified, cruel tactics against immigrant neighborhoods in our city. We will protest if we see these tactics being used again or escalated,” Lurie remarked.

He argued that local law enforcement would not assist the government in carrying out immigration raids.

San Francisco and I will never stand by while our neighbors are being targeted, Lurie continued.

California’s state government had earlier earlier in the week forewarned that it would file a lawsuit as soon as federalized National Guard troops arrived in San Francisco.

According to the article, the Posse Comitatus Act expressly forbids federal troops from carrying out civilian law enforcement unless requested by the state.

Governor Newsom, who is regarded as a front-runner for the next presidential election, compared Trump’s actions to those of a “wannabe tyrant,” in a statement.

The idea that the federal government can send troops into our cities without providing any evidence that it has any basis in reality, without oversight, no accountability, or no respect for state sovereignty, is an attack on the rule of law, Newsom said.

series of crackdowns

Despite the protests of states like California and Illinois, Trump has continued with the National Guard’s deployments, causing a wave of lawsuits.

California is still fighting Trump’s decision to send troops to Los Angeles in June, a city that was rife with protests and outrage over immigration raids at workplaces, shopping centers, and parks.

The streets were covered in demonstrations, the majority of which were peaceful. Trump sent as many as 4, 000 members of the California National Guard to the city as a result of Newsom’s opposition, but he still accused protesters of being violent.

The Trump administration cited passages from the US Code as justification, despite Newsom’s claim that the deployment violated the Posse Comitatus Act.

If there is a threat of invasion or rebellion, or if the federal government is unable to enforce its laws in another way, the US Code permits federalization of state National Guard troops.

Despite the opposition from local leaders, the Trump administration has continued to send National Guard troops to other Democratic-led jurisdictions despite the protests’ largely subsided.

For instance, earlier this month, Trump authorized the National Guard to visit Chicago, Illinois, which led to a lawsuit from that state.

The president also made the announcement on Truth Social that troops would be stationed in Portland, Oregon, a move that an emergency court petition blocked.

Meanwhile, Trump has praised the advantages of military deployments to Memphis, Tennessee and Washington, DC, arguing that both cities saw a drop in crime as a result.

San Francisco is a teetering subject.

San Francisco has long been a punching bag for Trump and other Republicans because it has a long history of being a left-wing bastion.

The president criticized the city’s Democratic leadership even while on the campaign trail, blaming it for “destruction” in San Francisco.

Trump has since criticized the city as the subject of his upcoming immigration and crime crackdown.

Trump stated to Fox News on October 19 that “we’re going to go to San Francisco.” “One of the greatest cities in the world was San Francisco,” he declared. Then, fifteen years ago, something went wrong. It woke up.

One of Trump’s supporters, Marc Benioff, shared his opinion of Trump’s decision to change course on Thursday.

San Francisco is home to the billionaire’s software company, Salesforce, and Benioff annually holds a weekend-long tech conference there.

Benioff, however, told The New York Times that he would welcome the National Guard in San Francisco, a response to Republican demands to “clean” the city on the eve of the event this year.

If someone can be cops, I’m all for it, Benioff said. “We don’t have enough cops.

Comedians scheduled to perform at his annual conference dropped out of the conversation after those comments were immediately met with immediate backlash from city officials. Benioff apologized on social media a few days later.

Benioff cited his conversations with locals as evidence that “the National Guard is not needed to address safety in San Francisco.”

I sincerely apologize for the concern it caused, and I apologize for my earlier comment, which was based on the event’s abundance of caution.

Benioff was one of the advisers Trump cited as having an impact on his decision to withdraw from his feared deployment on Thursday.

Protests had already erupted outside the San Francisco Bay Area’s US Coast Guard facility in Alameda.

Mayor Lurie, in response to the city’s efforts to reduce accidental overdoses, said he would welcome “continued partnerships” with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

Lurie continued, adding that the invitation did not include military participation.

Source: Aljazeera