Salesforce CEO’s National Guard call for San Francisco shocks his team
▼ Summary
– Marc Benioff, previously known as a liberal-leaning San Francisco billionaire, has revealed a significant political transformation in a recent interview.
– He declared his full support for President Trump and advocated for National Guard troops to patrol San Francisco streets.
– Benioff praised his experience at a Windsor Castle state dinner with Trump and expressed gratitude for the president’s actions.
– The interview ended abruptly after Benioff noticed his public relations executive’s reaction and questioned if the political topics were “too spicy.”
– This shift reflects Silicon Valley’s broader accommodation of Trump and raises questions about whether other tech CEOs will follow Benioff’s lead.
For years, Marc Benioff has been widely viewed as San Francisco’s progressive billionaire, a tech leader known for pouring money into homeless services, supporting the city’s public schools, and hosting fundraisers for Democratic candidates like Hillary Clinton. This established persona made his recent comments all the more startling.
During a lengthy phone interview conducted from his private jet with the New York Times, Benioff unveiled a political shift that appeared to catch his own communications staff off guard. This is particularly notable given that his company, Salesforce, maintains hundreds of active contracts with various federal government agencies.
In a striking departure from his past positions, the Salesforce founder stated he “fully supported” President Donald Trump. He went further, suggesting that National Guard troops should be deployed to patrol the streets of San Francisco. Benioff spoke glowingly about his experience sitting opposite the president at a state dinner held at Windsor Castle, mentioning he told Trump directly “how grateful I am for everything he’s doing.” He also voiced admiration for Elon Musk’s initiatives aimed at improving government efficiency and admitted he had not been closely following news reports concerning immigration raids or the president’s frequent criticisms of the media.
The fifty-minute conversation reportedly concluded when Benioff, seemingly noticing the reaction of his public relations executive, was overheard asking, “What about the political questions?” He then quipped, “Too spicy?”
While Benioff’s changing stance reflects a broader trend of Silicon Valley’s accommodation with the Trump administration, the frank nature of this exchange provided a rare look at just how extensive that repositioning can become. The situation now raises a pivotal question for the industry: will other prominent technology CEOs in the Bay Area follow Benioff’s controversial lead and advocate for the presence of federal troops within their own communities?
(Source: TechCrunch)