President Donald Trump suggested Sunday that he could deploy federal troops to San Francisco, invoking the possibility of using the Insurrection Act, a rarely used presidential authority that allows the military to operate domestically.
In an interview on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Trump told host Maria Bartiromo that he intends to send forces to San Francisco, arguing that the city has deteriorated in recent years and needs federal intervention. “We’re gonna go to San Francisco,” Trump said. “San Francisco was truly one of the great cities of the world. And then, 15 years ago, it went wrong. It went woke.”
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Trump went on to assert that he has “unquestioned power” to use the Insurrection Act. “Don’t forget I can use the Insurrection Act,” he said. “Fifty percent of the presidents almost have used that. And that’s unquestioned power. I choose not to, but I’m met constantly by fake politicians, politicians that think that they — you know, it’s not a part of the radical left movement to have safety. … These cities have to be safe.”
Historical records, however, show that roughly one-fourth of presidents have invoked the measure.
Trump’s remarks drew immediate criticism from California officials, who rejected the idea of federal troops operating in the city.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom quickly pushed back on social media. “Fact check: Nobody wants you here. You will ruin one of America’s greatest cities,” he wrote on X.
Mayor Daniel Lurie said at a police academy news conference last week that the city is already making progress in reducing crime and strengthening its police force. “We have a lot of work to do, but I trust our local law enforcement,” Lurie said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “We in San Francisco are doing the work each and every day.”
Trump’s remarks come amid a string of confrontations between his administration and Democratic-led cities, The Guardian reported. On Friday, the White House announced a pause on $11 billion in infrastructure projects in San Francisco, New York, Boston and Baltimore, citing budget constraints. Critics have characterized the move as political retaliation.
The president has previously ordered National Guard deployments to Los Angeles, Memphis, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. After a federal trial, a judge ruled that the Los Angeles deployment violated the law because troops acted as police, contravening the Posse Comitatus Act.
Trump’s latest comments also came one day after a global wave of “No Kings” demonstrations, as millions of protesters gathered in cities across the United States and abroad to voice opposition to what organizers described as threats to democracy and executive overreach.
In response to the protests, Trump posted an AI-generated video depicting himself as “King Trump” piloting a jet that dumps brown sludge resembling feces over demonstrators.
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