President Trump said during an interview on “Fox and Friends” Friday morning that he will send National Guard troops to Memphis, Tennessee.

“We’re going to Memphis,” Trump said.

He said the city is “deeply troubled.”

“We’re going to fix that just like we did Washington,” he added.

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Many believed Trump would send National Guard troops to Chicago instead of Memphis.

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CBS News explained:

The White House has been sending mixed signals over whether they would be sending troops to Chicago for some time, even as immigration activity has ramped up under the banner of “Operation Midway Blitz.”

On Tuesday, Mr. Trump appeared to already be backtracking on plans to send the guard to Chicago, saying he would be announcing he’d be sending troops to another city “very shortly.” He appeared to make that announcement on the Fox News morning show Friday.

“I’ll be the first to say it now, we’re going to Memphis,” the president said. “I would have preferred going to Chicago.”

Mr. Trump then said he had spoken to a man he refused to name but said is the president of Union Pacific railroad, who told him he should send the National Guard to Memphis instead. The president said this man told him when he visited Memphis he was not allowed to even walk a single block and instead had to be driven in armored vehicles because the city is so unsafe.

In addition to the National Guard, Trump said he would bring in the military “if we need it.”

Footage below:

“Several weeks ago I asked President Trump to come to Memphis and save our city from the gangbangers and thugs. We’re the most dangerous city in America,” Newsmax host Todd Starnes said.

“Today, the president announced that he will be sending the National Guard and possibly the U.S. military to my hometown. Thank you, Mr. President and welcome National Guard troops! The citizens are overjoyed!” he added.

“Thank you, Mr. President, for restoring law and order in Democrat-run cities that refuse to crack down on violent crime in favor of soft-on-crime agendas. Let’s Make Memphis Safe Again,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who is running for governor of Tennessee, commented.

Reuters noted:

Memphis, a city of 611,000 people along the Mississippi River, has one of the highest violent crime rates in the United States, according to FBI statistics. Some 24% of residents live in poverty, more than double the national average, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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The U.S. Justice Department sent federal agents to help fight violent crime in the city in 2020, during Trump’s first term in office.

Trump said he might also send federal personnel to New Orleans – like Memphis, a Democratic-leaning city in a Republican-controlled state. He has threatened to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago, but so far has not done so.

Trump argues that crime is blighting American cities like Washington, and in recent weeks placed the U.S. capital city’s police department under direct federal control and sent federal law enforcement personnel to patrol the city’s streets.

 

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