President Donald Trump is hailing his federal crime fighting in Democrat-run sanctuary cities, saying he’s the only one one who can make “no crime miracles” happen.
“The only reason crime is somewhat down in Memphis is because the FBI, and others in the federal government, at my direction, have been working there for 5 months — on the absolutely terrible crime numbers; likewise, in Chicago and Los Angeles!” Trump wrote Saturday night on Truth Social, just one day after announcing on TV “we’re coming” to the Tennessee city next.
“But the real work by us has barely begun. That happens after we make the official announcement that WE’RE COMING, and when we do that, as we did in now VERY SAFE WASHINGTON, D.C., the no crime ‘miracle’ begins.
“ONLY I CAN SAVE THEM!!! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT”
Trump is vowing to root out crime but facing obstruction from Democrat leaders in deep blue states like Illinois and California. He faces fewer obstacles in red states like Tennessee, but Trump has long argued on the campaign trail that cities run by Democrats are crime-ridden.
Memphis Democrat Mayor Paul Young said Saturday that Trump’s TV announcement the day before was the first hard confirmation he received that the National Guard would be sent to the city on an anti-crime mission.
Young told CNN he learned the idea was under consideration when Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s office informed him earlier in the week. The mayor said conversations continued throughout the week, and he talked about the possibility of getting more law enforcement presence through the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Trump said Friday morning in a TV interview that Memphis was “deeply troubled” and “we’re going to fix that just like we did Washington,” where he deployed the National Guard and surged federal law enforcement.
Asked whether Young had “hard confirmation” before Trump’s announcement, Young said: “No, that was the confirmation.”
Days earlier, Memphis police reported drops in every major crime category in the first eight months of 2025 compared with the same period in previous years. Overall crime hit a 25-year low and murder a six-year low, police said.
But Memphis has dealt with stubborn gun violence for years. In 2023 the city saw a record 390 homicides.
How the Guard will factor into efforts to tackle crime is still being ironed out, the governor said. Lee and Trump talked Friday and plan to do so again early next week, the governor’s spokeswoman, Elizabeth Lane Johnson, said. Lee has said the deployment would add momentum to an ongoing FBI operation alongside state and local law enforcement that “has already arrested hundreds of the most violent offenders.”
The mayor on Saturday said the specifics about how many troops will come and when, their exact role and more remain unknown. He expects to learn more next week.
Young disputed Trump’s assertion that the mayor is “happy” about the introduction of the National Guard. Young said he didn’t ask for a deployment and doesn’t think it will reduce crime. But he acknowledged that the city has remained high on too many “bad lists,” and since the deployment has been decided, he wants to “drive how they engage in our city.”
Material from The Associated Press was used to compile this report.
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