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President Donald Trump announced that he'll be sending a federal policing surge to Memphis, Tennessee, following his recent crackdown on Washington, D.C.
“We’re going to Memphis. Memphis is that’s the next — deeply troubled and the mayor is happy. The Democrat mayor, the mayor is happy. And the governor, Tennessee, the governor is happy,” Trump said during an appearance on FOX & Friends Friday (September 12) morning.
The decision to deploy National Guard troops to Memphis came after Trump had publicly acknowledged his interest in doing the same for Chicago.
“Deeply troubled — we’re going to fix that, just like we did Washington. I would have preferred going to Chicago,” Trump said of his decision on Friday.
The president claims he was pitched the idea to send federal policing to Memphis by a railroad executive serving on FedEx's board.
“He said, ‘When I walk one block to my hotel. They won’t allow me to do it. They put me in an armored vehicle with bulletproof glass to take me one block.’ He said, ‘It’s so terrible,'" Trump said.
“So we’re going to Memphis. I’m just announcing that now, and we’ll straighten that out, National Guard and anybody else we need. And by the way, we’ll bring in the military too if we need it. But National Guard — but Memphis is, look, it’s a great music city, it’s, you know, home of Elvis and everything else," he added.
Trump sent thousands of National Guard troops and federal law enforcement to patrol the streets of Washington, D.C., claiming the city had been “overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people" while announcing his "Liberation Day" decision. The president claimed that his administration was "not going to let it happen anymore" and vowed to remove homeless encampments from all public places, which includes parks and underpasses.
Trump was confronted by CODEPINK activists during his dinner at a Washington, D.C. restaurant Tuesday (September 9) night. The video, which was shared by CODEPINK's X account, showed the protesters chanting repeatedly at Trump, comparing him to Adolf Hitler and calling to "Free D.C." after his crackdown on crime within the city, which included calling in troops from the National Guard, and "free Palestine."