SF Mayor, Trump Clash Over Potential National Guard Deployment In The Bay: Report

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The back and forth between San Francisco officials and Donald Trump over the possible deployment of National Guard troops into the Bay Area continued Wednesday, according to reports from multiple news outlets.

Since the summer, Trump has called for federal intervention in Democratic-led cities, including San Francisco and Oakland.

He again brought up the idea on Wednesday during a press conference at the White House, where he said that San Francisco used to be one of the country's great cities more than a decade ago.

"Now, it's a mess," Trump said during the conference, adding that he had the support of San Francisco city officials to deploy the National Guard into the city. He never said what city officials supported his plan.

Just hours before, however, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie held his own press conference where he highlighted the city's public safety efforts, including declining crime rates and a focus on fighting drug trafficking, according to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle.

At that conference, Lurie also pushed back on the idea that San Francisco needed the National Guard to help, saying that although the city had a lot of work to do in terms of public safety, he trusted local law enforcement to get the job done, according to the report.

This all comes just days after Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff told the New York Times that Trump should deploy the National Guard in San Francisco to tackle public safety issues in the city.

That was followed by a series of tweets from Elon Musk, who said bringing in the National Guard was the "only solution" and that Downtown San Francisco looked like a "drug zombie apocalypse."

Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles over the summer to help during immigration operations and the accompanying protests. A judge ruled last month that Trump violated federal law when he deployed the troops in Southern California.

Still, Trump has continued with his threats about National Guard deployments and has followed through on some, recently deploying troops in Chicago and Portland.

Those cities have also fought the move, calling it overreach and aimed at provoking unrest. On Thursday, a federal appeals court ruled against the Trump administration, temporarily maintaining a lower court ban on deploying the National Guard to assist immigration officers in Illinois while the government pursues an appeal.

Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.

AP News contributed to this report.