Trump Backs Off Federal ‘Surge’ in San Francisco After Pleas From ‘Friends’: ‘They Want to Give It a Shot’
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he has called off a federal “surge” in San Francisco after pleas from “friends” of his in the city.
San Francisco was the latest city set to see federal law enforcement officers deployed as part of the administration’s effort to tackle crime, but Trump wrote on Truth Social that he’s decided to call off the plan and give the city a “shot.” The president said he’s giving San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie (D) a “a chance to see if he can turn it around.”
Trump wrote:
The Federal Government was preparing to “surge” San Francisco, California, on Saturday, but friends of mine who live in the area called last night to ask me not to go forward with the surge in that the Mayor, Daniel Lurie, was making substantial progress. I spoke to Mayor Lurie last night and he asked, very nicely, that I give him a chance to see if he can turn it around. I told him I think he is making a mistake, because we can do it much faster, and remove the criminals that the Law does not permit him to remove. I told him, “It’s an easier process if we do it, faster, stronger, and safer but, let’s see how you do?”
The president said the plan was to deploy troops on Saturday to the city as he has done with other cities.
“The people of San Francisco have come together on fighting Crime, especially since we began to take charge of that very nasty subject,” he wrote. “Great people like Jensen Huang, Marc Benioff, and others have called saying that the future of San Francisco is great. They want to give it a ‘shot.’ Therefore, we will not surge San Francisco on Saturday. Stay tuned!”
Trump has faced backlash from California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) and others over his use of federal troops ahead of the expected deployment to San Francisco.
Lurie put out a statement about his conversation with Trump, saying both the president and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed there will be no deployment for the moment.
“We have work to do, and we would welcome continued partnerships with the FBI, DEA, ATF, and U.S. Attorney to get drugs and drug dealers off our streets, but having the military and militarized immigration enforcement in our city will hinder our recovery,” he wrote. “We appreciate that the president understands that we are the global hub for technology, and when San Francisco is strong, our country is strong.”
