We could see scenes in San Francisco like what’s happening in Los Angeles, as political analysts say it’s possible, and even likely, that Trump will send National Guard members or Marines into San Francisco as anti-ICE protests continue.

There are now 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines deployed in Los Angeles, there to ostensibly quell protest "riots" and aid with ICE raids. (As LA Mayor Karen Bass told CBS News, “There’s nothing for them to do.”) And as you’re surely aware, ICE has been grabbing people in San Francisco, and we’ve had plenty of these protests here too, with more on the way.

Governor Gavin Newsom has sued the Trump administration over the deployment of the Guard, and a federal judge has scheduled a hearing on the matter for Thursday afternoon. And a new KGO report says that experts think Trump may send the National Guard to San Francisco too.  

We should note these “experts” are all political science professors at Bay Area universities, none of whom are in Trump’s orbit. But this is certainly something Trump would relish in doing, given his well-documented animus toward San Francisco.

"Californians may find this alarming, but for the rest of the country, they believe that he is evicting people who are here without permission, so this is relatively popular, this position that [he's] taken," San José State University Department of Political Science lecturer Donna Crane told KGO. "I do suspect that something very similar is likely to unfold here.”

We’re going to quibble with Crane’s assessment that the ICE raids and deportations are "popular," given a new Quinnipiac poll showing that 56% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s deportation policy, and only 40% approve. But the raids and deportations are, of course, popular with Trump’s base, and that’s probably all he cares about.

"I think President Trump is feeling like this is what we promised," Menlo College political science professor Melissa Michelson said to KGO. "If he thinks local officials are not cooperating enough and these protests have to be pushed back so he can follow through on his promises, he's going to do it."

On a somewhat related note, just this afternoon, the New York Times published a Heather Knight article on how SF Mayor Daniel Lurie won’t say even say Donald Trump’s name, and makes very careful efforts to avoid any Trump-related controversies. That strategy would not be sustainable if Trump sends the National Guard here, and if just like Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass, Trump starts throwing around Lurie’s name in denigrating insults.

Related: In National Address, Newsom Calls Out Trump's Authoritarianism, Says We're at a 'Perilous Moment' [SFist]

Image: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 09: National Guardsmen stand outside of the Edward Roybal Federal Building on June 9, 2025 in Downtown Los Angeles, California. Tensions in the city remain high after the Trump administration called in the National Guard against the wishes of city leaders. (Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)