California Governor Gavin Newsom is escalating his battle with former President Donald Trump, issuing a fierce warning and threatening immediate legal action if Trump follows through on plans to deploy federal troops to San Francisco.
The clash marks the latest chapter in a growing national debate over federal authority and state sovereignty — and pits two of the country’s most high-profile political figures against each other once again.
Over the weekend, Trump reaffirmed his intention to send federal forces to San Francisco, telling Fox News host Maria Bartiromo that “the difference is, I think they want us in San Francisco.” He went on to describe the city as “a mess” and claimed it was “on his target list” for cleanup efforts.
“San Francisco was truly one of the great cities in the world, and then 15 years ago, it went woke,” Trump said, criticizing what he called the city’s “decay under liberal leadership.”
But city and state officials argue the opposite — that San Francisco is rebounding, not collapsing.
A City on the Rebound
According to CNBC, overall crime in San Francisco has dropped 30% from 2024 levels, with homicides at a 70-year low and car break-ins at their lowest in more than two decades. The city is also experiencing a post-pandemic resurgence driven by the booming artificial intelligence industry, a surge in tourism, and renewed business investment.
Major tech firms have expanded their local footprint, and event bookings have increased, signaling renewed confidence in the city’s future. Housing demand is rising again, and the long-depressed office market is beginning to stabilize.
Despite those positive signs, Trump and his supporters have continued to frame the city as a symbol of liberal failure, using images of homelessness and addiction to argue for direct federal intervention.
“This Wannabe Tyrant”
Newsom, who served as San Francisco’s mayor from 2004 to 2011, fired back swiftly, calling Trump’s threat a blatant overreach of federal power.
“We don’t bow to kings, and we’re standing up to this wannabe tyrant,” Newsom said in a fiery statement Sunday night. “The notion that the federal government can deploy troops into our cities with no justification grounded in reality, no oversight, no accountability, no respect for state sovereignty — it’s a direct assault on the rule of law.”
San Francisco’s current leadership echoed his stance.
Mayor Daniel Lurie acknowledged the city continues to battle fentanyl-related crime but emphasized that deploying federal troops “is not a solution.” District Attorney Brooke Jenkins added, “Let me be clear — no local or elected San Francisco leaders want the National Guard deployed to San Francisco at the direction of the Trump Administration.”
Under federal law, National Guard troops cannot perform local policing duties such as arrests or investigations unless explicitly authorized by Congress or the state governor — something Newsom has vowed never to permit.
Corporate Backlash and Legal Frontlines
The controversy grew after Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff suggested that the National Guard could serve as supplemental police in San Francisco. His remarks sparked immediate backlash from city leaders, forcing Benioff to issue a public apology.
Meanwhile, Newsom has assembled a powerful coalition of allies — including California Attorney General Rob Bonta and San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu — all preparing to challenge Trump’s move in court if he proceeds.
The governor is already engaged in a lawsuit against the federalization of California National Guard troops, a process that began in June amid mass deportation protests in Los Angeles. Trump had ordered roughly 4,000 California National Guard members placed under federal command — about a third of the state’s active force. While most have since been returned to state control, approximately 300 remain federalized.
Some of those troops were sent to Portland, Oregon, where a federal judge later blocked their street deployment. Fourteen were temporarily stationed in Chicago for training purposes.
“We’ve Been Ready Since Day One”
At a Board of Supervisors hearing Tuesday, Mayor Lurie confirmed the city is already preparing a coordinated response in case Trump moves forward.
“We’ve been thinking about the possibility of the National Guard being deployed to San Francisco since the first day of my term,” Lurie said. “We have a team of public safety leaders, city attorney representatives, and department heads ready to act.”
As tensions rise, San Francisco is shaping up to be the next major battleground in the ongoing struggle between red-state federal power and blue-state autonomy — with Gavin Newsom promising that if Trump sends troops, California will see him in court immediately.
