In 2024, as the city was debating a new policy to ban pretextual traffic stops, which data show disproportionately affect Black drivers, Benioff said San Francisco should continue the controversial practice and increase police funding.
“Our police need to be empowered now — not this new terrible decision to end pretext stops,” he posted on X.
It’s unclear exactly what’s prompted Benioff’s pivot toward Trump, but Salesforce does business with the federal government and tech moguls from OpenAI’s Sam Altman to Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg have spoken favorably of the president in what many analysts say is an attempt to preserve their own business interests in the face of a commander-in-chief who has sought to punish his enemies.
Benioff’s latest comments signal to Keally McBride, a professor of politics at the University of San Francisco, that Benioff, who has largely relocated in recent years to Hawaii, “is probably not in touch with what life in San Francisco really is like these days. And he’s not thinking very clearly about the human costs that are associated with bringing in the National Guard to police.”
His remarks also pose a challenge for Lurie, who, while steering clear of criticizing Trump, has also sought to foster relationships with tech leaders.
“Benioff coming out and saying, ‘I think the National Guard should come in,’ makes it clear that there are political costs for San Franciscans, but also for Lurie in associating himself with these people,” McBride said. “Lurie’s trying to be like, ‘We’re the good rich people,’ and this is not going to help.”
The mayor, a Levi Strauss heir, is walking a tightrope in trying to court business interest in the city, at a time when the city has had to cut millions of dollars from its annual budget and is increasingly looking to private philanthropy to fill in the gaps. Angering Benioff, who has poured millions of dollars into various San Francisco causes, could have serious repercussions. The Salesforce CEO has already threatened in the past to move Dreamforce to another city, like Las Vegas.
“No one is doing more philanthropy in San Francisco this year than I am,” Benioff said in an interview with the San Francisco Standard. “We are the largest philanthropist in San Francisco by the company and individually. Nobody has given more than my family. Nobody has given more than my company.”
At the start of Lurie’s term this year, McBride said she hoped Lurie’s keep-quiet approach, “would mean that San Francisco would dodge the ire of Donald Trump, and that his affiliation with the tech industry leaders would help in that regard,” she said.
Lurie has remained silent as Trump has sent the National Guard to crack down on protests against increased immigration raids and arrests, and as the president said he will continue to send troops to Democratic strongholds like San Francisco to fight a “war from within.”
Now, that approach is being tested.
“Benioff’s statements, if anything, serve as encouragement to the Trump Administration. It could be decisive,” McBride said. “But, it’s really hard to know what the White House will do. I’m way beyond trying to predict what’s going to happen next week.”
