Trump announces that he will send the National Guard to occupy Memphis

President Donald Trump announced during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” that he planned to send military troops to Memphis, Tennessee.

During his appearance on September 12, Trump said that his administration would deploy the National Guard “and any other person we need” in the city of Tennessee. Trump did not provide a calendar for deployment.

“By the way, we will also bring the army if we need it,” he added.

Trump said Memphis was “deeply disturbed”.

“We are going to solve this problem, just as we did in Washington,” he said.

Memphis Shelby’s crime commission shows that crime in Memphis, including violent crimes, has decreased since last year. Violent crimes from January to June are down more than 17% this year compared to the same period in 2024.

Earlier this month, Trump flooded Washington, DC with federal agents and national guard troops under the pretension to repress crime, despite record crime rates. In June, he sent troops from the National Guard, as well as Marines, to Los Angeles to suppress demonstrations against his immigration policies.

A federal judge recently ruled that the deployment of troops by Trump in Los Angeles was illegal. Earlier this month, the DC prosecutor continued the Trump administration, alleging that his deployment of troops in the city was unconstitutional and raped federal law.

For weeks, Trump threatened to send troops to Chicago, but a conversation with a businessman, whom he did not name, changed his mind, said Trump on “Fox & Friends”.

“I said,” So what do you think? Where should we then go to town? “” Said Trump in his story in history. “‘Because we are going to 1, 2, 3, then we will make a few at a time. We will straighten the crime in the city.'”

The man replied: “Sir, Memphis would be good.”

Trump did not disclose the name of the man, but said that he was part of the Fedex board of directors, which has its registered office in Memphis, and was the head of the Union Pacific railway company. The guardian indicated that the CEO of Union Pacific, Jim Vena, was part of the Fedex board of directors until 2023, and that none of the leaders of the Railway Company is currently on the board of directors of Fedex.

Memphis is one of the largest black cities mainly in the country. Like Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, DC, Memphis is led by a black democrat mayor.

The governors of Illinois and California, the two Democrats, pushed the Trump’s incursions, but the republican governor of Tennessee Bill Lee praised the news.

“For months, I have been in constant communication with the Trump administration to develop a strategic plan in several phases to combat crime in Memphis, taking advantage of all the extent of federal and state resources,” Lee said in a statement published on September 12.

“The next phase will include a complete mission with the Tennessee National Guard, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the Memphis Police Service and other law enforcement agencies, and we are working closely with the Trump administration to determine the most effective role for each of these agencies to serve the best,” he continued.

Lee said that he had authorized an “additional push of Tennessee road patrol in the county of Shelby, and THP continues to work closely with the Memphis police service through the City Bluff working group”.

Local leaders, however, were not as enthusiastic about Trump’s plans.

The mayor of Memphis, Paul Young (D), said in a statement that he was informed earlier in the week than the president and the governor “planned to deploy the National Guard and other resources in Memphis”.

“What we need most are financial resources for intervention and prevention, additional patrol agents and the support of cases to strengthen MPD surveys,” he continued, adding that Memphis “makes measurable progress in the reduction of crime”.

The mayor of the county of Shelby, Lee Harris (D), who is black, said that Trump’s plan to send troops to Memphis is “anti-democratic”. The mayor of the county is the chief elected in the county of Shelby; Memphis is the county’s seat.

“The President’s announcement that troops will occupy Tennessee communities are disappointing, anti-democratic and violates American standards and possibly American laws,” he posted on Facebook on September 12. “In the short term, the president’s foray will probably cause confusion and fear in several of our communities, especially the most vulnerable.”

He continued: “Let us be clear: the president sending troops to Tennessee will interfere and will have a frightening effect on the ability of Tennesseans to exercise critical freedoms, such as freedom to protest and freedom to travel. We will do everything in our power to prevent this foray into Tennessee and to protect the rights, security and dignity of each resident in our communities. ”