WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday that Memphis, Tennessee, will be the next city targeted by a federal crime crackdown, announcing plans to activate National Guard troops and to bring in "anybody else we need" to address violent crime there.
Trump made the announcement during a rare in-studio appearance on Fox & Friends, calling Memphis "deeply troubled" and saying, "We're going to fix that just like we did Washington." He said he would have preferred to send forces to Chicago, but that Memphis had been chosen in part because he believed Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee would cooperate. The president also said Democratic Mayor Paul Young is "happy" with the decision and warned, "By the way, we'll bring in the military too if we need it."
Trump tied the Memphis announcement to a broader federal campaign that in August placed Washington, D.C., under federal control for 30 days under the Home Rule Act to address violent crime in the nation's capital. That 30-day period ended this week, but the White House said National Guard personnel would maintain a presence in Washington at least through the end of November. The president said the same authorities and resources would be used in Memphis.
Memphis has among the highest reported violent-crime rates in the country. Trump cited a 2024 violent-crime rate of about 2,501 incidents per 100,000 residents in the city, which has a population of nearly 619,000, contrasting it with a national violent-crime rate of roughly 380 per 100,000.
Details on the size, scope and legal basis of any deployment to Memphis were not immediately released. Trump said he planned to activate National Guard troops and to bring in additional federal personnel as needed. He did not provide a timeline for the deployment or specify what mission authorities would be used beyond referring to the Home Rule Act in the context of the D.C. operation.
Local and state officials had not issued public statements about the announced plan as of Friday evening. Trump framed the choice of Memphis as pragmatic, citing both the city's crime statistics and anticipated cooperation from Tennessee's Republican governor. He said Democratic city leadership had indicated agreement with federal assistance.
The administration's move to place Washington under federal control in August sparked debate over the Home Rule Act's scope and the conditions under which the federal government can assume control of local governance for public-safety reasons. The White House has so far defended the D.C. action as necessary to reduce violent crime. Officials have said National Guard and other federal forces in Washington will remain in place to sustain security efforts through November.
Trump's announcement extends a high-profile federal approach to public safety that began with the capital and signals an intent to focus on cities with elevated violent-crime rates. How federal authorities will coordinate with Tennessee and Memphis law enforcement, what legal authorities will govern any expanded use of federal or military personnel, and how local leaders and residents will respond remain open questions pending further announcements from the White House and state and city officials.