Marc Benioff apologizes for suggesting National Guard be sent to San Francisco

By Ramishah Maruf, Clare Duffy, CNN

New York (CNN) — Salesforce billionaire Marc Benioff backtracked on Friday from comments suggesting President Donald Trump should send the National Guard to San Francisco. The tech CEO’s remarks initially 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.

The company’s annual Dreamforce conference took place this week and drew tens of thousands to the city.

Last week, Benioff told the New York Times that he supported Trump’s deployment of federal troops into Democrat-led cities and thought 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 to the Times.

Benioff is the latest tech billionaire in the Bay Area, once a liberal bastion, to cozy up to Trump in the president’s second term.

Benioff’s comments sparked a swift backlash, including within his circle. The Times reported that prominent venture capitalist Ron Conway quit the Salesforce Foundation board over Benioff’s Trump comments. CNN has reached out to Salesforce to confirm the departure.

The Times also reported on Thursday that Benioff’s ties to Trump extended beyond support for his mobilization of the National Guard in American cities. The report cited internal documents showing Salesforce pitching itself as a tool to boost hiring for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which seeks to ramp up deportations across the country, and suggesting how AI could help evaluate tips and improve ICE investigations.

Salesforce did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment regarding the report. The company told the New York Times that it had served the US government under previous administrations; the report notes that Salesforce contracted with ICE under the Obama and Biden administrations.

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