For weeks, Trump has discussed plans to send National Guard troops to Chicago, but the threats have drawn fierce resistance from the state's Democratic governor, J.B. Pritzker. Citing a desire for cooperation from local and state leaders, Trump last week floated New Orleans ‒ which, like Memphis, is in a Republican-led state ‒ as a potential target before landing on Memphis.
"I would have preferred going to Chicago," Trump said.
Trump did not say how many National Guard troops he plans to deploy to Memphis, the second largest city in Tennessee behind Nashville. "We'll bring in the military, too, if we need it," he said.
Lee's consent will ease the deployments and will likely permit other states to send National Guard troops in state-controlled status, permitting them to directly assist in law enforcement.
A spokesperson for Lee, who had previously said he did not have plans for the National Guard to go to Memphis, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Memphis is not ‘a troubled city,’ as President Trump has said," Democratic U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, who represents Memphis, said in a statement. "We have a crime problem." He blamed the city's crime rate on the effects of slavery, segregation and under-investment.
“In the short run, the Guard can help the police in a supportive role," Cohen added. "In the long run, Memphis needs federal dollars invested in proven programs."
Trump is one month into his crime crackdown in Washington, DC, which has involved deploying more than 2,200 National Guard troops to patrol the streets. But unlike other American cities, DC's status as a federal enclave gives Trump special authority to deploy National Guard troops, in contrast to the states, where governors traditionally oversee mobilizations.
Trump signed an executive order on Aug. 11 directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to "coordinate with state governors" to determine whether National Guard troops are needed in their communities.
Trump recounted hearing from a board member of FedEx, which is based in Memphis, about the city's crime problem.
"He said, 'When I walk one block from my hotel ‒ they won't allow me to do it. They put me in an armored vehicle with bulletproof glass to take me one block.' He said it's so terrible," Trump said, without identifying the individual.
Trump has hailed his crime crackdown in Washington DC as a wild success, and even DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has agreed to an increased federal presence that has helped reduce the number of homicides, carjackings and gun crimes.
Yet Bowser has also said the federal intervention has led to a "break in trust" between the community and law enforcement.
Trump, meanwhile, has exaggerated the scale of the turnaround, saying that the district now has "literally no crime" and describing a city where people were too scared to eat at restaurants before his takeover. Violent crime was already down in DC by 26% from 2024 when Trump announced his takeover.
The Trump administration has faced lawsuits over the National Guard deployment in Washington as well as from California Gov. Gavin Newsom after the president ordered Guard troops to Los Angeles to combat protests.
