Salesforce Chief Executive Marc Benioff publicly apologized Friday for suggesting President Trump should send National Guard troops to San Francisco, saying his earlier remarks “came from an abundance of caution” and that he no longer believes federal intervention is needed to ensure public safety.
“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 wrote on X.
“My earlier comment came from an abundance of caution around the event, and I sincerely apologize for the concern it caused.”
The billionaire philanthropist and longtime Democratic mega-donor, 61, added that San Francisco “makes the most progress when we all work together in a spirit of partnership.”
Benioff thanked Mayor Daniel Lurie, the San Francisco Police Department and city officials for helping ensure the success of Dreamforce, Salesforce’s annual technology conference that drew roughly 50,000 visitors this week.
Benioff’s remarks mark an effort to calm tensions that have mounted since his interview with the New York Times last week, in which he said he supported Trump’s idea of deploying the National Guard to San Francisco to help fight crime.
“We don’t have enough cops, so if they can be cops, I’m all for it,” he told the paper.
The comments were met with strong criticism from city leaders and longtime allies in the tech and philanthropic communities. Lurie and District Attorney Brooke Jenkins rejected the idea, noting that crime in San Francisco has fallen to a 70-year low.
“To see tear gas and all the things that are happening — we don’t want that chaos here,” Jenkins said earlier in the week.
The fallout continued through the Dreamforce conference.
Prominent venture capitalist Ron Conway, a major Democratic donor and early backer of companies including Google and Airbnb, resigned from the board of the Salesforce Foundation, writing in an email that he “barely recognize[s] the person I have so long admired.”
Two scheduled Dreamforce performers, comedians Kumail Nanjiani and Ilana Glazer, also dropped out of the event. While Salesforce attributed the cancellations to illness, both entertainers have previously criticized Trump’s policies and rhetoric.
Benioff later brought in comedian David Spade to close the conference.
The controversy prompted broader reflection among San Francisco’s business and philanthropic circles.
Laurene Powell Jobs, founder of the Emerson Collective and widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, criticized Benioff’s recent comments in an essay published Friday in the Wall Street Journal, writing that “giving that expects control is anything but generous.”
Powell Jobs cited comments by Benioff touting his charitable donations to the city, in which he said: “If there is anyone who’s doing more for the local community, I want their name, because I’m very competitive.”
“The message beneath that comment was unmistakable: In his eyes, generosity is an auction — and policy is the prize awarded to the highest bidder,” Powell Jobs wrote in the Journal.
The Post has sought comment from Benioff.
Despite the criticism, Salesforce announced this week that it plans to invest $15 billion in San Francisco over five years to advance artificial intelligence initiatives.
Benioff, who has alternated between describing himself as an independent and a moderate Republican, has long been one of the city’s most prominent business figures and donors, helping fund hospitals, schools and homeless services.
Benioff said in his Friday post that he remains “fully committed to a safer, stronger San Francisco.”
