Washington : US President Donald Trump said that he would deploy the National Guard to combat crime in Memphis — a Democratic-led city in the state of Tennessee — claiming he was backed by the city’s mayor and the state’s governor.
Speaking on Fox News, Trump claimed on Friday that the city is “deeply troubled,” and that both the mayor and the governor are “happy” about the upcoming deployment, Xinhua news agency reported.
“We’re going to fix that, just like we did in Washington,” Trump said.
Memphis, a Democratic stronghold, has a majority-Black population. The city’s mayor, Paul Young, said at a press conference Friday that “I did not ask for the National Guard and I don’t think it’s the way to drive down crime.”
However, Young said that as mayor, he will “work with this community, with the governor, with the federal government.”
Lee Harris, the Democratic mayor of Shelby County, which includes the city of Memphis, lashed out at the move.
“Mr. President, no one here is ‘happy.’ We’re not happy you’re militarizing Tennessee communities,” Harris said in a post on X. “Not happy at all with occupation, armored vehicles, semi-automatic weapons, and military personnel in fatigues.”
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Friday issued a statement confirming the upcoming deployment.
“I’ve been in close contact with the Administration throughout the week, and will be speaking with President Trump this afternoon to work out details of the mission,” the governor said.
After deploying the National Guard to Washington to fight crime in August, Trump has recently indicated that he could send troops to other cities, including Chicago and Baltimore, both of which are led by Democrats.
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