Donald Trump has said he is sending the National Guard into the city of Memphis to fight crime, with Chicago likely to be next.
The Memphis Safe Task Force will be a “replica of our extraordinarily successful efforts” in Washington DC, the US president said on Monday, as he continues to use military force to battle urban crime.
Officials from various federal agencies – including the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the US Marshall’s service – will also go to Memphis, as Mr Trump said: “We’re sending in the big force now.”
He said there was “virtually no crime in DC right now”, after National Guard troops were deployed to the nation’s capital last month and the city’s police force was brought under federal control.
Mr Trump, who arrives in the UK for his second state visit this week, signed a memo setting up the Memphis operation in the White House.
He was joined in the Oval Office by Tennessee’s Republican governor, Bill Lee, who – the president said – had asked him to intervene there.
Mr Lee thanked the president, who told him it “will be your proudest moment”, before adding “we’re going to be doing Chicago probably next.”
Calling Chicago “a great city”, Mr Trump said “we’re going to make it great again very soon.”
The president told of a conversation he had with a businessman, who told him: “Sir, you’ve got to save Chicago. You can’t let it go.”
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Unlike Mr Lee, Illinois’ Democratic governor, JB Pritzker, and the city’s Democratic leaders, have criticised the idea, insisting the action isn’t needed.
Shortly before Mr Trump’s announcement, the White House said on social media that Memphis’ total crime rate was higher than the national average and suggested it had increased since last year, unlike national rates.
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But the city’s police force recently reported decreases across every major crime category in the first eight months of 2025 compared to the same period in previous years.
Overall crime hit a 25-year low, while murder hit a six-year low, police said.
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Persistent gun violence has plagued Memphis for years, with a record total of more than 390 murders in 2023.
The president hinted other cities, such as St Louis, Baltimore, and New Orleans, could follow.
