Trump says tech leaders and mayor changed his mind about using federal force in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — President Donald Trump was geared up for a show of federal force in San Francisco, a city he’s blasted as everything wrong with liberal governance. Then conversations with some of the Bay Area’s most prominent tech leaders and the mayor changed his mind.

“I got a great call from some incredible people, some friends of mine, very successful people,” Trump told reporters Thursday at the White House, specifically referencing Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, one of the world’s most valuable tech companies, and Marc Benioff, CEO of software company Salesforce.

He said they told him San Francisco was working hard to reduce crime. “So we are holding off that surge, everybody. And we’re going to let them see if they can do it,” Trump said. He said he could change his mind if it “doesn't work out.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said

Trump said the increased federal force had been planned for Saturday. He didn’t specify whether he was just referring to National Guard troops, which he had threatened to send in, or if he would also halt a potential ramp up of immigration enforcement. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents arrived at a U.S. Coast Guard base near the city on Thursday morning, drawing protesters.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement informed Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez that the operation had been called off for the entire Bay Area, a nine-county region of about 8 million people, Sgt. Roberto Morales, a spokesman for the sheriff, said Friday.

Outreach from billionaire CEOs clearly had a hand in the rare reprieve Trump handed a Democrat-led city. But Trump also credited Mayor Daniel Lurie, who has worked to avoid direct confrontation with the Republican president since both took office in January. Lurie has governed as an earnest and relentless cheerleader of San Francisco, and repeatedly refused to weigh in on national politics or to mention Trump’s name.

Instead, he's focused on local issues — public safety, luring back business and reversing the city's pandemic-fueled decline. When Trump said repeatedly earlier this week that he'd send the National Guard into San Francisco to quell crime, Lurie noted overall crime is down 26% compared to last year and car break-ins are at a 22-year low.

“I told the mayor, I love what you’re doing, I respect it, and I respect the people that are doing it,” Trump said, referencing a phone call the two had Wednesday.

An heir to the Levi Strauss fortune and anti-poverty philanthropist, Lurie is a centrist Democrat who had never held office until he ousted then-Mayor London Breed in last November's election. He has stated no other political aspirations than to improve the city and has said that he will work with anyone who wants to do the same.

Lurie said he told Trump that he welcomes the city’s “continued partnership” with the Drug Enforcement Agency and other federal authorities to get illegal narcotics off the streets and contribute to San Francisco’s falling crime rates. Fentanyl has been a major scourge on the city's streets.

“But having the military and militarized immigration enforcement in our city will hinder our recovery,” Lurie said.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Friday that her department won’t tolerate violence like the truck that rammed into a Coast Guard station in the San Francisco Bay Area on Thursday night. She said during a news conference in Minneapolis that she had discussed the incident with Trump and suggested the president could change his mind about holding off a federal enforcement surge if more violence occurs.

If they “don’t figure out how to protect our law enforcement officers and protect our Coast Guard members, that we would be forced to come in and protect those individuals," she said.

Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a San Francisco Democrat, praised Lurie on social media, saying that he “has demonstrated exceptional leadership." Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors head coach, called him an “absolute superstar” responsible for the good things happening in San Francisco.

The office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a former San Francisco mayor, said on X that, “Trump, has finally, for once, listened to reason.” Newsom, for his part, has repeatedly sparred with Trump, particularly after Trump deployed the California National Guard to Los Angeles against Newsom's wishes.

But others are skeptical that Trump will keep his word. Indeed, Trump said he was giving Lurie “a chance" to turn things around and said the federal government could “take criminals out” much faster.

“We cannot trust Trump," said San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, a progressive who runs politically left of Lurie but has a good working relationship with the mayor.

San Francisco Supervisor Jackie Fielder, who is also more politically liberal than Lurie, said in a statement that she disagrees with Lurie's desire to coordinate more with federal law enforcement, saying that “is a dangerous invitation to a fascist administration.”

Trump said he received “four or five calls” from business leaders urging him not to send federal force and to let city leaders continue to work on reducing crime.

“They’re the biggest people in the world, a lot of the high tech,” he said at the White House. “They want to do it. And I said, ‘I am so honored to let you do it. And if it doesn’t work out, we’ll do it for you very quickly.'”

Benioff of Salesforce, who also owns Time magazine, told the New York Times earlier this month that he’d welcome Guard troops to help quell crime ahead of his major annual business conference. He quickly face backlash and then apologized, saying the troops weren't needed. He confirmed to The Associated Press that he spoke to Trump but did not provide more details. Nvidia declined to comment.

In announcing his decision to back off a surge, Trump did not mention other cities in the Bay Area, including Oakland, where he has also threatened to send in federal troops.

Some other Democrats who have also taken a less combative approach to Trump have avoided his focus as he deploys Guard troops around the country. He has not, for example, focused on Detroit despite criticism of the city. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has tried to engage with Trump including with White House visits.

Associated Press journalists Mike Liedtke and Olga R. Rodriguez in San Francisco contributed.

EDS NOTE: OBSCENITY - Protesters block the entrance to Coast Guard Base Alameda shortly after a caravan of U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel arrived on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

California Highway Patrol officers move back protesters who were blocking the entrance to Coast Guard Base Alameda on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Protesters against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement rally outside city hall on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Flanked by city leaders, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie discusses President Donald Trump's comments that he has called off a surge of federal law enforcement in San Francisco on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Police in Uganda on Saturday denied reports that the main opposition candidate in this week's tense election had been arrested, terming the reports as “deceitful and inciteful.” They urged citizens to remain peaceful as the country awaits the results in the presidential vote.

Uganda held a general election on Thursday amid an internet shutdown that has been in place for four days, with the military heavily deployed across the country and pockets of violence erupting as people protested parliamentary election results in various parts of the country.

President Yoweri Museveni, 81, is seeking a seventh term in office and is leading in the provisional results with more than 70% support. His main challenger, musician-turned-politician Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, better known as Bobi Wine, is currently holding 20% of the vote. Wine dismissed the announced results as “fake,” and asked his supporters to ignore them.

Police on Saturday said that Wine was “not under arrest,” as claimed by his National Unity Platform party. Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke said Wine was free to leave his house, but there was “controlled access” for others trying to go into the property, to prevent people from using the premises to incite violence.

“It should not surprise you when we have a pickup or two near the residence of Kyagulanyi,” Rusoke said.

Ugandan electoral officials are set to announce the final presidential results on Saturday, as constitutionally required. The chairperson of the national electoral commission said Friday that everything was on course to announce the final result by the end of the day Saturday.

The voting was marred by delays due to the late delivery of materials to polling stations after opening time and the failure of some biometric machines.

President Museveni said he agreed with the electoral commission’s plan to revert to paper voter registration records, but Wine alleged fraud, claiming that there was “massive ballot stuffing” and that his party’s polling agents were abducted to give an unfair advantage to the ruling party.

The security forces were a constant presence throughout the election campaign, and Wine said authorities followed him and harassed his supporters, using tear gas against them. He campaigned in a flak jacket and helmet due to his security fears.

Wine wrote Thursday on X that he was unable to leave his house, and on Friday his party wrote that he had been arrested and taken away in an army helicopter.

Uganda has not witnessed a peaceful transfer of presidential power since independence from British colonial rule six decades ago.

Veteran opposition figure Kizza Besigye, a four-time presidential candidate, remains in prison after he was charged with treason in February 2025.

Uganda's security forces patrol a street during protests following the announcement of the preliminary results in Kampala, Uganda, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

A Ugandan police officer makes a gesture behind a burning fire amid protests following the announcement of the preliminary results in Kampala, Uganda, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Girls run during protests following the preliminary results in Kampala, Uganda, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)