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The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –
In a phone interview with KWAM’s Todd Starnes that aired on Thursday, President Donald Trump said he will “think about” Memphis when deploying national guard troops in the future.
The West Tennessee city has been struggling to maintain an adequate number of law enforcement officers for years, with it being reported back in May that Memphis was seeing a 20 year low in police officers.
Earlier this month, Trump put out an executive order directing U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to work with state governors and “authorize the orders of any additional members of the National Guard to active service, as he deems necessary and appropriate, to augment this mission.”
Tennessee has sent 160 National Guard troops to D.C. since the August 11th executive order.
During press conference held that same day, Trump had provided a list of the 5 cities that might be next to see an influx of National Guard show up to counter high crime rates.
The President’s list included Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and Oakland.
Memphis was not mentioned as a next step.
When the conservative radio host asked President Trump if other cities could be next on the list for a National Guard presence, Trump stated that the current federal response out of D.C. is “sort of a test.”
“We’re doing sort of a test right now in D.C., it’s working unbelievably, much faster than we thought,” said Trump. “We’ve arrested hundreds of criminals, hardline criminals, people that will never be any good.”
Starnes and Trump discussed several other topics during the interview including mail-in ballots and Tennessee’s gubernatorial race.
“I’ll think about Memphis,” Trump stated towards the end of the interview, referencing his comments about the deployment of the National Guard.
According to a recent national survey conducted by personal finance website WalletHub, Memphis is the worst large city to raise a family in throughout the entire country.
As of June, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security placed Memphis on the national registry of “Sanctuary Jurisdictions” alongside Nashville for being an area that deliberately obstructs immigration enforcement and puts U.S. citizens at risk.
The DHS registry was taken down shortly after.
Last year, Memphis and Chattanooga were featured on the Engineer Your Finances list of the 21 “worst run cities in the U.S.
In 2023, Memphis saw crime rates surpass those of Detroit.
As of this article’s publication, Trump has not provided any confirmation that the National Guard will be sent to Memphis.
About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee. You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
The ‘hoods NEED patrolled from 10 pm till dawn.