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.”
Trump floated the deployment going beyond the National Guard to include “the military” if needed.
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.
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.
“I am definitely not happy,” said Paul Young, the mayor of Memphis, in a CNN interview, in response to President Trump’s assertion that he was “happy” about the deployment of the National Guard to his city. “..”.
The big picture The president told viewers on “Fox and Friends” Friday that the blue city was “deeply troubled,” and Young said he was given concrete confirmation of the upcoming troop mobilization. “.”.
Trump suggested extending the National Guard’s deployment to include “the military” if necessary.
In D.C, during his operation. Chicago is among the cities the president has named as his next target; however, he appears to have lost interest in the Windy City, where state and local officials strongly opposed Guard action.
Driving the news: Young claimed to have heard from Gov. early last week that he did not want Guard members to march in Memphis, as he confirmed on CNN’s “First of All” with Victor Blackwell. According to Bill Lee’s (R) office, the proposal was being considered.
Talks continued throughout the week, he said, and he had talked about how he could access federal resources through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the FBI.
Yes, but the first “confirmation” that Young received came from Trump’s remarks on Friday’s TV.
He stated, “As mayor, my goal is to make sure that we have an opportunity to drive some of the decisions around how they engage in our community if they are indeed coming.”.
The size and scope of the mission will be discussed this week, he said.
“We want to ensure that these people are safe as they enter our city and community. “that they are supportive of our law enforcement efforts and that they can interact in a non-threatening manner,” Young stated.
What they’re saying: “Many Tennessee officials have praised the President’s decision to address crime in Memphis next, following the President’s highly successful operation to combat violent crime in DC, which objectively drove down crime rates across the board,” White House spokesperson Abigail Johnson said in a statement to Axios, citing endorsements from Lee and Sen. R-Tenn. Marsha Blackburn. ).
She continued, “Reducing crime will benefit everyone who visits and lives in Memphis.”.
Quick recap: Trump declared on Friday that “we’re going to Memphis,” “the mayor is happy,” and “the governor is happy.”. “..”.
According to Russell Contreras of Axios, the president had come under fire for ignoring cities in red states with high crime rates while threatening to deploy the Guard to blue cities in blue states.
According to an Axios analysis of FBI data from 2024, Memphis has the highest rate of violent crime among American cities with a population of 100,000 or more.
However, earlier this month, Memphis police announced that overall crime was at a 25-year low, citing declines in all major crime categories in the first eight months of the year.
Learn more: According to the FBI, violent crime rates are highest in rural South and West states.
Editor’s note: The White House has provided an update to this story.
