Trump calls off sending National Guard to US San Francisco

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump on Thursday called off the deployment of the National Guard to San Francisco, the US state of California, in a reversal from his previous remarks.

"The Federal Government was preparing to 'surge' San Francisco, California, on Saturday, but friends of mine who live in the area called last night to ask me not to go forward with the surge in that the Mayor, Daniel Lurie, was making substantial progress," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

"I spoke to Mayor Lurie last night and he asked, very nicely, that I give him a chance to see if he can turn it around," Trump continued. "Therefore, we will not surge San Francisco on Saturday."

Lurie said on X that he received a phone call from Trump and told him that "San Francisco is on the rise."

"We have work to do, and we would welcome continued partnerships with the FBI, DEA, ATF, and US Attorney to get drugs and drug dealers off our streets, but having the military and militarized immigration enforcement in our city will hinder our recovery," said the mayor, referring to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Democratic leaders -- including California Governor Gavin Newsom and Lurie -- had spent weeks preparing for the possibility that Trump would send federal forces to San Francisco.

In June, the deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles -- in response to protests sparked by immigration enforcement raids -- drew strong backlash.

In August, the Trump administration deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C. to fight crime, and threatened to send troops to more Democratic-led cities. In late September, Trump announced he was ordering troops to Portland, calling the city "War ravaged," but the deployment was temporarily blocked by a federal judge.