The White House is urging California Democrats to welcome the National Guard to "clean up" San Francisco, but Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., said the deployment will "ruin one of America's greatest cities. "
President Donald Trump told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo that the National Guard is headed to San Francisco next. In a statement shared exclusively with Fox News Digital on Monday, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said San Francisco Democrats should "welcome the President in to clean up their city."
"America’s once great cities have descended into chaos and crime as a result of Democrat policies that put criminals first and law-abiding citizens last," Jackson said Monday. "Making America Safe Again — especially crime-ridden cities — was a key campaign promise from the President that the American people elected him to fulfill."
Meanwhile, Mayor Daniel Lurie was also elected last November with a commitment to restoring public safety to San Francisco.
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"Since January, I have said that public safety is my number one priority," Lurie said during a public safety briefing Friday. "Over the last nine months, we have backed that up, rebuilding the ranks of our public safety agencies, strengthening coordination across departments and strategically deploying technology. It's working, and this week proved it."
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But the White House urged California Democrats to recognize the progress made in Memphis, Tennessee, and in Washington, D.C., where fellow Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser has acknowledged the Trump administration's success cleaning up the nation's capital.
"We're going to go to San Francisco," Trump said on Sunday. "The difference is, I think they want us in San Francisco. San Francisco was truly one of the great cities of the world, and then 15 years ago, it went wrong. It went woke."
Newsom was quick to fire back in a social media post Sunday, writing, "Fact check: Nobody wants you here. You will ruin one of America's greatest cities."
During the safety briefing Friday, Lurie noted that, last week, more than 45,000 people descended upon San Francisco for Salesforce's "Dreamforce 2025" conference, featuring hundreds of events about advancing technology and artificial intelligence.
"45,000 visitors, and no reports of any major incidents. Once again, the eyes of the world were on San Francisco, and we delivered," Lurie said, while applauding first responders and city workers who make San Francisco "shine."
"It happened because of our close partnership with the California Highway Patrol," Lurie said. "We are working with the appropriate state and federal enforcement agencies every day to keep our city safe, and that coordination is delivering results for San Francisco."
Newsom criticized Trump in August for "militarizing American cities" after the president deployed National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., to fight crime in the nation's capital. Trump has since deployed troops to Chicago, Memphis and Portland.
The California governor, a frequent Trump critic who is considered a likely 2028 presidential candidate, deployed California Highway Patrol "crime-suppression teams" across the Golden State in August to prevent crime and promote public safety.
"While the Trump administration undermines cities, California is partnering with them and delivering real results. With these new deployments, we’re doubling down on these partnerships to build on progress and keep driving crime down," Newsom said in a statement in August, seemingly to deter another National Guard deployment to California.
Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles this spring during protests rejecting deportations by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in line with another Trump mandate.
In an Instagram post following the "No Kings" protests on Saturday, which erupted across the country in rejection of Trump's sweeping, second-term agenda, Lurie thanked San Francisco law enforcement and protesters for maintaining peace.
When reached for comment, Newsom's and Lurie's team pointed to their previous statements from their social media posts and the Friday press conference.