Roger Stone — Nixon tattoo enthusiast, perennial political provocateur, and now apparently a lobbyist for Bay Area land deals — is pushing to transfer control of the Presidio to a local Native American tribe.

Let's unpack this.

The Presidio is one of the crown jewels of San Francisco's public space. After decades as a military installation, it was handed to the Presidio Trust in the late '90s and has since been transformed into a self-sustaining national park site — one of the rare examples of a federal entity actually getting its act together. It hosts trails, cultural institutions, restaurants, housing, and the Lucas campus. It works. People love it.

Now Stone, a close Trump ally, is lobbying to upend that arrangement on behalf of a Bay Area tribe seeking control of the land. The details remain murky, which is itself a red flag. What exactly does "control" mean here? Management? Sovereignty? Development rights?

To be clear: there are legitimate conversations to be had about Indigenous land stewardship and historical justice. The Presidio sits on Ohlone land, and that history deserves recognition and meaningful engagement. But those conversations deserve better than Roger Stone as their messenger. When a veteran political operator whose entire brand is backroom deal-making parachutes into a sensitive land-use question, San Franciscans are right to be skeptical about who actually benefits.

As one local put it bluntly: "Only giant pieces of shit would try to upend how the Presidio is being taken care of now." Harsh? Sure. But the sentiment reflects a real protectiveness over a public space that's genuinely thriving.

Another SF resident cut straight to the chase: "Casino in the Presidio in exchange for kickbacks to Trump?"

We don't know that's the endgame — but the fact that the question practically asks itself tells you everything about the credibility problem here. If this were truly about justice and stewardship, you'd think the tribe could find a lobbyist who doesn't come pre-loaded with baggage and a federal pardon.

The Presidio belongs to San Francisco in spirit and to the American public by law. Any proposal to change that deserves full transparency, public input, and a whole lot more scrutiny than a quiet lobbying campaign can provide. We'll be watching.