Memphis mayor: "Certainly not happy" about Trump's National Guard deployment
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Memphis mayor Paul Young in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 25. Photo: Brandon Dill/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Memphis Mayor Paul Young refuted President Trump's claim that he was "happy" about a National Guard deployment to his city, saying in a CNN interview, "I'm certainly not happy."
The big picture: Young said he received hard confirmation of the impending troop mobilization when the president announced it to television audiences Friday on "Fox & Friends," describing the blue city as "deeply troubled."
- Trump floated the deployment going beyond the National Guard to include "the military" if needed.
- Amid his operation in D.C., the president has named several cities that he wants to target next, including Chicago — though he's seemingly cooled off on the Windy City, where state and city leaders vehemently opposed Guard action.
Driving the news: Young, who confirmed on CNN's "First of All" with Victor Blackwell that he did not want Guard personnel marching in Memphis, said he learned early last week from Gov. Bill Lee's (R) office that the idea was under consideration.
- Conversations persisted through the week, he said, and he had discussed how he could obtain federal resources via the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Yes, but: Trump's TV comments on Friday were the first "confirmation" Young received.
- "As mayor, my goal is to make sure that if they are indeed coming that we have an opportunity to drive some of the decisions around how they engage in our community," he said.
- He said there will be discussions this week about the size and scope of the mission.
- "We want to make sure that as these individuals come into our city and in our community, that they are ... able to engage in a way that is not threatening, and that they are supportive to our law enforcement efforts," Young said.
What they're saying: "Following the President's highly successful operation to combat violent crime in DC, which objectively drove down crime rates across the board, numerous Tennessee officials have applauded the President's decision to address crime in Memphis next," White House spokesperson Abigail Johnson said in a statement to Axios, pointing to praise from Lee and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).
- "Addressing crime will benefit all who live in and visit Memphis," she added.
Catch up quick: Trump announced Friday that "we're going to Memphis," saying, "the mayor is happy" and the "governor is happy."
- The president had faced criticism for threatening to send the Guard to blue cities in blue states while saying little about cities with high crime rates in red states, Axios' Russell Contreras reported.
- According to an Axios analysis of 2024 FBI statistics, Memphis holds the highest violent crime rate of any American city with a population of 100,000 residents or more.
- But earlier this month, Memphis police reported decreases in all major crime categories in the first eight months of the year, announcing overall crime was at a 25-year low.
Go deeper: Rural South, West states have highest violent crime rates: FBI
Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from the White House.
