Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff apologizes for saying National Guard needed in San Francisco

Marc Benioff, co-founder and CEO of Salesforce, appears to be walking back comments calling for the National Guard to patrol San Francisco.

“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 said in a post on X. “My earlier comment came from an abundance of caution around the event, and I sincerely apologize for the concern it caused. “

Benioff stirred up controversy last week after giving an interview with The New York Times in which he declared his support for President Donald Trump’s threats to deploy National Guard troops in San Francisco and other cities led by Democratic politicians.

While Benioff’s comments were apparently prompted by his concerns over public safety costs at the massive Dreamforce conference that the company held in San Francisco last week, the previously liberal-leaning billionaire also used the interview to embrace Trump, at one point saying, “I fully support the president,” and adding that Trump is “doing a great job.” (At the end of the interview, he reportedly asked his shocked PR person, “Too spicy?”)

And although Benioff’s pro-Trump stance seemingly aligns with a larger rightward shift among tech executives, his call for the National Guard to come to San Francisco quickly led to pushback from longtime allies and Democratic politicians. Well-known VC Ron Conway stepped down from the board of the Salesforce Foundation, with Conway reportedly telling Benioff in an email, “I now barely recognize the person I have so long admired.” 

An event scheduled to feature Benioff and San Francisco Mayor Dan Lurie was also canceled, with organizers citing rain.

State Senator Scott Wiener, who represents San Francisco, told Politico, “I’m grateful that Marc walked back his call for the National Guard to be deployed in San Francisco. Marc has done so many good things for our city — and supported so many civic needs — and I’m glad to see this shift.”

Trump has already deployed the National Guard in other cities including Washington, DC and Chicago, while a judge has thus far blocked his attempts to do the same in Portland. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, has repeatedly described this as an “invasion” of his state.