President Donald Trump has signed an executive order authorising the deployment of National Guard troops to Memphis, in what he described as a continuation of his administration’s military-led response to crime in Democrat-run cities.
The move was welcomed by Tennessee’s Republican governor, Bill Lee, who stood alongside the president in the Oval Office as he signed a memorandum establishing a Memphis Safe Task Force.
“We’re going to fix that just like we did Washington,” Trump said, referring to last month’s deployment of troops to the capital and the federalisation of its police force.
Under the new initiative, National Guard personnel will work with federal agencies including the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the US Marshals Service and the Department of Justice. Trump cited crime statistics in Memphis and pledged to end what he called “savagery” and “make Memphis safe again”.
Governor Lee thanked the president for the intervention, saying: “I’m tired of crime holding the great city of Memphis back.” Trump told him the crackdown “will be your proudest moment” and predicted crime would “plummet” within weeks.
The signing was attended by Tennessee’s Republican senators, Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty.
Speculation had centred on Chicago as the next city to receive a similar deployment, but the administration has faced strong opposition from Illinois’s Democratic governor, JB Pritzker, and the city’s leadership. On Monday, Trump said: “We’re going to be doing Chicago probably next,” but suggested the move was not imminent. “We don’t want to lose Chicago,” he added, noting his personal connection to the city through a building bearing his name.
Earlier in the day, Pritzker told reporters that sending troops into a US city was a “terrible idea” and expressed hope the president would reconsider. “We never really know what he intends to do,” he said.
Hours later, Trump made clear that his administration would proceed regardless of state-level opposition. “We hope we have the governor’s help,” he said. “But if we don’t, we’re doing it without him.”
The president also named St Louis, New Orleans and Baltimore as possible future targets for similar operations. “We want to save these places,” he said.
