Donald Trump Says He’s Sending National Guard To Memphis
President Donald Trump shook the city on Friday morning after announcing plans to send the National Guard to Memphis during an interview on Fox & Friends. The bold statement instantly sent waves across political circles, law enforcement, and Memphis residents.
“We’re going to Memphis, I’m just announcing that now, and we’ll straighten that out,” Trump said live on Fox. “National Guard, and anybody else we need. And by the way, we’ll bring in the military, too, if we need it.”
Trump connected the move to safety concerns, sharing that a FedEx board member told him Memphis has become unsafe to the point he had to ride in an armored vehicle instead of walking just one block to his hotel.
Memphis, according to Trump, is “deeply troubled.” He added: “We’re going to fix that just like we did Washington.”
This statement aligns with past promises Trump made about tackling crime across major U.S. cities. Read more about Trump’s previous moves involving the National Guard here.
Local Officials React To Trump’s National Guard Plan
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris didn’t hold back when addressing the news.
In a conversation with WREG, Harris admitted that there had been talks about National Guard troops possibly entering Memphis. But instead of welcoming the idea, he pushed back strongly.
He called on Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to avoid signing off on such a move. “To have individuals with military fatigues, semi-automatic weapons, and armored vehicles patrolling our streets is way too far, anti-democratic, and anti-American,” Harris said.
Harris’ statement added fire to a growing debate about what National Guard presence would mean for a majority-Black city already facing tension with policing and community trust.
At the same time, Trump insisted the plan had the backing of both the Memphis mayor and the governor, stressing that it was about restoring order, not escalating chaos.
Memphis Crime Concerns And Trump’s Tough Talk
The backdrop for this announcement is Memphis’ struggle with crime. For years, the city has been among the top in the country for violent crime rates, something Trump directly pointed to in his Fox interview.
An executive from FedEx, one of the city’s biggest employers, allegedly influenced Trump’s decision after describing conditions in Memphis as unsafe. This anecdote painted a picture that Trump later used as a springboard to justify bringing in Guard troops.
Residents remain split. Some feel Trump’s move could help clean up neighborhoods that have long faced violent crime and under-policing. Others fear it could deepen distrust between residents and law enforcement, particularly in Black communities.
By tying his promise to “fix” Memphis the same way he claimed to “fix Washington,” Trump leaned heavily on his tough-on-crime image, even if it risks sparking more protests on the ground.