Trump calls San Francisco 'a great city,' praises Democratic mayor's efforts
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, who defeated incumbent London Breed in 2024, earned praise from President Donald Trump, who claims the city could quickly become great again.
President Donald Trump praised San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie during a Cabinet meeting Thursday for "really trying" to improve the city after moderates took over leadership.
"I know they have a mayor who’s trying very hard. He’s a Democrat, but he’s trying very hard," Trump said in a clip aired by CNN.
"But we can do it much more effectively, because he can’t do what we do. He can’t take people out from the city and bring them back to the country from where they came, where they were in prisons.
"They were allowed to go in prisons. There were drug dealers, the highest level of drug dealers. Murderers — 11,888 murders. We do things that they can’t do."
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President Donald Trump praised San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie during a Cabinet meeting Thursday for "really trying" to improve the city after moderates took over leadership. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo)
Trump spoke after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth during a meeting that initially addressed the war in Iran. The conversation then pivoted to Democrat-run cities' handling of illegal immigration and crime.
"We can make it a lot safer than it is. San Francisco — a great city, was a great city — could quickly become a great city again," Trump said.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie (Christina House/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
"But, you know, they’re going very slowly. I tell my friends — they are very substantial people, they’re in a certain business where people have made a lot of money; I hope that lasts — but they have tremendous, tremendous potential. It was one of the greatest cities in the world. Now, it’s got a lot of crime. And the mayor’s really trying. Again, a Democrat trying. And I spoke to him. He just wants to have a chance. And I said, ‘We’ll give you a chance, but we can solve it very quickly.’"
The city elected Lurie in 2024, defeating incumbent Democrat London Breed in a shift away from lenient policies on crime, drugs and homelessness that critics say contributed to the city’s decline.
SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR ADMITS CITY 'NEEDS A RESET' HOURS BEFORE ATTACK ON SECURITY DETAIL
Moderate Democrats in San Francisco are pushing back against progressive candidates, fearing local left-wing politicians could undo the work done over the past four years after a surge in the city's homelessness and crime.
Moderate Democrats in San Francisco are pushing back against progressive candidates, fearing local left-wing politicians could undo the work done over the past four years after a surge in the city's homelessness and crime. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
Neighbors for a Better San Francisco raised $10 million to pour into local elections to stop progressives from being re-elected and knocking the city "off its more centrist course," according to a Politico report last month.
