Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff had gone back on his previous remarks suggesting that President Donald Trump should send the National Guard to San Francisco. His initial remarks drew a wave of criticism.
“Having listened closely to my fellow San Franciscans and our local officials, and after the largest and safest Dreamforce in our history, I do not believe the National Guard is needed to address safety in San Francisco,” Benioff posted on X on Friday. “My earlier comment came from an abundance of caution around the event, and I sincerely apologize for the concern it caused,” he added.
Benioff had told The New York Times last week that he supported Trump’s decision to deploy federal troops in Democrat-led cities and believed it could help reduce crime in San Francisco. “We don’t have enough cops, so if they can be cops, I’m all for it,” he said.
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Trump has recently been deploying the National Guard to U.S. cities, most of which are led by Democrats. On Friday, he asked the Supreme Court to overturn lower court rulings that blocked a National Guard deployment in Chicago.
Benioff is among the various billionaires who have been cozying up to the Trump administration during the president’s second term. He also proposed using Salesforce’s AI technology to help ICE recruit 10,000 new agents and streamline the agency’s deportation effort, according to internal documents and messages obtained by the New York Times. The materials, which included a five-page memo, a spreadsheet listing potential “opportunities” with ICE, and slides exploring how AI could assist in processing tip-line reports and investigations, were confirmed by Salesforce as authentic.
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The company, however, declined to provide detailed comments, citing the confidential nature of its contracts, according to The New York Times report released Thursday night. It, however, said it had served the US government under previous administrations, with the report noting that Salesforce contracted with ICE under the Obama and Biden administrations.
Benioff’s initial comments sparked backlash, including among his circle. NYT also reported that prominent venture capitalist Ron Conway quit the Salesforce Foundation board over Benioff’s Trump comments. Conway said that their values were “no longer aligned”. “I now barely recognize the person I have so long admired,” Conway told the news outlet.
Several democratic politicians, including California Governor Gavin Newsom also criticized Benioff for his comments. Newson, who once served as mayor of San Francisco had also appeared on stage with Benioff at last year’s Dreamforce convention.