In an interview on Thursday, Benioff, who now lives primarily in Hawaii and has been registered to vote there since 2021, said he was responding to a shortage of officers in the San Francisco Police Department that has forced him to hire additional officers from outside San Francisco to provide security at the last three Dreamforces.

Salesforce billionaire Marc Benioff backtracked on Friday from comments suggesting President Donald Trump should send the National Guard to San Francisco. The tech CEO’s remarks initially drew a wave of criticism.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has a long relationship with Marc Benioff, the chief executive of Salesforce, that dates back to a different era in San Francisco.

Benioff stirred up controversy last week after giving an interview with The New York Times in which he declared his support for President Donald Trump’s threats to deploy National Guard troops in San Francisco and other cities led by Democratic politicians.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff continues to embrace terrible ideas for improving homelessness and public order in San Francisco.

Salesforce CEO backtracks on troops for SF streets after losing longtime ally Ron Conway, but new revelations about ICE proposals raise more questions.

In a sharp departure from his past liberal stances, Benioff told the outlet he “fully” supports the president and thinks the National Guard should be deployed to San Francisco. “We don’t have enough cops, so if they can be cops, I’m all for it,” he said.

The callout shocked local lawmakers and many in his influential network. Benioff — who owns Time Inc. — has sought to publicly stay out of politics, has been viewed as pro-left, and has invested huge sums of money in the city.

Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff on Friday apologized for comments he made last week urging President Trump to deploy the National Guard to San Francisco to address public safety.