Trump Vows To Send Troops To San Francisco: 'It'll Be Great Again'

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — President Donald Trump on Sunday reiterated his plan to send troops into San Francisco and said he would invoke the Insurrection Act if needed.

"We're going to go to San Francisco and we're going to make it great. It'll be great again," Trump said in an interview on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures." "It won't be great if it keeps going like this."

Trump made the comments during an interview with Maria Bartiromo. The pair discussed Trump's efforts to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago, a plan that is currently being played out in the courts.

Justice Department lawyers on Friday asked the Supreme Court to lift lower-court orders blocking the deployment, saying the mobilization was necessary to “prevent ongoing and intolerable risks to the lives and safety” of federal agents, the New York Times reported.

The administration wants to station troops from Texas and Illinois outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in response to protests outside the facility.

Trump on Sunday said the difference between San Francisco and Chicago is "they want us in San Francisco."

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker in a social media post Friday said "militarizing our communities against their will is not only un-American but also leads us down a dangerous path for our democracy."

Trump previously send California National Guard troops to Los Angeles in response to protests over immigration raids in the region over the summer. The move was sharply opposed by state and local officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom.

State officials fought the Los Angeles deployment in court. A federal court in September granted the state's request to block the deployment.

A similar plan to send troops to Portland has been blocked by a federal court.

Trump on Sunday said he would consider using the Insurrection Act as part of his effort to send troops to American cities. The act allows presidents to use military force within the country and against Americans.

It was most recently used in 1992 during the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles, SF Gate reported.

"These cities have to be safe. Our cities that are Democrat run — exclusively just about — are unsafe cities. They're a disaster," Trump said.