Trump Announces Next ‘Deeply Troubled’ American City National Guard Will Clean Up
President Donald Trump announced Friday morning that the National Guard will be sent to Memphis, Tennessee — a city plagued by soaring violent crime rates despite being in the heart of a red state.
“We’re going to Memphis. I’m just announcing that now,” Trump said during a live Fox & Friends interview. “National Guard and anybody else we need, and by the way, we’re bringing the military too if we need it.”
The decision marks the latest in a series of federal interventions aimed at cracking down on crime in America’s most dangerous cities. Trump has previously signaled that Chicago, Baltimore, and New Orleans may also be next on his list.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee confirmed he has been working closely with the Trump administration on a coordinated strategy. “For months, I have been in constant communication with the Trump Administration to develop a strategic plan to combat crime in Memphis, leveraging the full extent of both federal and state resources,” Lee said.
Lee highlighted that the plan includes Operation Viper, an FBI-led mission with a task force of federal, state, and local law enforcement. Hundreds of arrests have already been made targeting violent repeat offenders. On top of that, Tennessee has surged its own state presence, with 50 new Highway Patrol officers deployed to Shelby County — the largest state-level law enforcement expansion in Memphis history.
The urgency is clear. Newly released FBI statistics show that Memphis is now the most violent city in America. In 2024, Memphis recorded 2,501 violent crimes per 100,000 residents — far outpacing Oakland (1,925) and Detroit (1,781), the second and third most dangerous cities.
Trump has made restoring law and order in American cities a defining mission of his second term. He praised past deployments of federal law enforcement in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, saying they helped drive down violence in areas long abandoned by Democrat leaders.
“Almost every city that’s in trouble is run by Democrats,” Trump said. “Cashless bail is a disaster.”
Democrats have blasted the president’s moves as an overreach. Earlier this summer, a federal judge ruled against Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles during violent anti-ICE riots, though the president has insisted he will continue to use every tool available to protect American citizens.
Memphis, Trump warned, is the next test. And this time, with Tennessee’s Republican leadership at his side, the president says the mission will be swift and decisive.