Memphis Residents Welcome President Trump’s Action to Restore Public Safety

President Donald J. Trump’s bold action to deploy federal resources to Memphis marks a powerful step forward in the fight to make the city safe again amid its longtime struggle with violent crime. This bold federal-state partnership drew immediate praise from residents, business owners, and area lawmakers as a transformative step to reclaim the city from violent crime and chaos.

Residents, who have endured escalating dangers, hailed it as a long-overdue lifeline:

• “This is an opportunity for us and for our city. I hope we make the most of it,” says an East Memphis business owner.

   

• “I don’t even feel safe anymore except for the places I know they have security guards… You really don’t know how bad it is in Memphis unless you’ve been a part of it for 40 or 50 years… This has been needing to be done for a long time,” says a longtime Memphis resident.

   

• “If [the National Guard] is going to be a buffer between them and the police to help minimize the crime, then that’s a great thing,” says a Memphis woman whose son was recently shot and killed trying to break up a fight in the city.

   

• “I have armed security seven days a week and it’s unbelievable what happens every day in front of my restaurant. Without a doubt, [the federal deployment] will help,” says a Memphis restaurant owner.

   

• “We just offered any of them that want to come in a free lunch plate just to say thank you for coming in and helping with the crime issue… I’m very concerned about crime, like everybody else… We’ve closed earlier and earlier and earlier because there’s no traffic on the streets [due to crime],” says another restaurant owner in Memphis.

   

• “President Donald Trump… is finally saying, ‘Yes, Memphis matters. We are going to make Memphis safe again’ — because our local leaders have failed to do so,” says one Memphis resident.

Elected officials expressed gratitude for the Trump Administration’s commitment to public safety:

• Gov. Bill Lee: “We do have a desire in Tennessee to partner with the Trump Administration. The first thing I want to say is thank you to President Trump. We requested, and he is providing, a full complement of federal resources to address crime — which is a serious problem in a great city… We’ve been working with the Trump Administration for months on a strategy for Memphis… We now will have resources to finally address an issue that has really dragged on for way too long.”

• Sen. Marsha Blackburn: “Tennesseans are grateful for what the Trump administration is doing to rid Memphis of violent crime and restore law and order in this great city. This is a long-term effort to Make Memphis Safe Again. Thank you, @realDonaldTrump!”

• Sen. Bill Hagerty: “I thank President Trump… This is an extraordinary display of federal, state, and local governments coming together and setting partisan politics aside to do what’s in the best interest of Americans and keep their communities safe.”

• State Sen. Brent Taylor: “While Democrats refuse the help, I’m grateful for President Trump’s willingness to send federal resources to Memphis. We don’t have to live this way. Safe and clean streets are in our future, and I appreciate all who partner with us to make our community a better place to raise a family.”

• State Rep. John Gillespie: “I’m grateful to @POTUS, Sen. @MarshaBlackburn, & @GovBillLee for working together to protect the Memphis community. I’m encouraged about the National Guard deployment to Memphis. The additional resources will bolster state & local law enforcement efforts to get control of crime.”