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Marc Benioff, the chief executive of Salesforce, said he no longer believed that National Guard troops were needed in the city.
Oct. 17, 2025, 4:24 p.m. ET
Marc Benioff apologized on Friday for saying President Trump should send the National Guard to San Francisco after a week of being hammered by the city’s leaders and even some of his fellow tech titans for the remarks.
“I do not believe the National Guard is needed to address safety in San Francisco,” Mr. Benioff, the Salesforce founder and chief executive, posted on X. He added that he made the remarks out of caution as his annual Dreamforce conference ramped up in the city and brought an extra 50,000 people downtown.
“I sincerely apologize for the concern it has caused,” he wrote. “It’s my firm belief that our city makes the most progress when we all work together in a spirit of partnership.”
Mr. Benioff initially said the National Guard should come to San Francisco in a phone interview with The New York Times last week. He said that San Francisco’s police force needed 1,000 more officers and that he hoped the National Guard could help fill those gaps.
“We don’t have enough cops, so if they can be cops, I’m all for it,” he had said in the interview.
This is a developing news story. Please check back for updates.
Heather Knight is a reporter in San Francisco, leading The Times’s coverage of the Bay Area and Northern California.
