By Illinois Review
During a Friday interview on Fox & Friends, President Donald Trump announced he will deploy the National Guard to Memphis, noting that both the city’s Republican governor and Democratic mayor support the move – in contrast to Chicago.
“We’re going to Memphis…Memphis is – that’s the next thing, deeply troubled, and the mayor is happy, he’s a Democrat mayor, the mayor is happy. And the governor, Tennessee, the governor is happy. … We’re going to fix that just like we did Washington,” Trump told the morning hosts.
“I would have preferred going to Chicago.”
The president said he was influenced by comments from Union Pacific Railroad President Jim Vena, who noted he needed an “armored vehicle with bulletproof glass” just to travel a single block in Memphis.
Trump has faced sharp criticism from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who downplayed the city’s crime problem. Over Labor Day weekend, more people were shot in Chicago than in New York City, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Baltimore combined.
After Trump deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C., the nation’s capital saw a sharp drop in crime. Within 30 days, authorities reported more than 2,300 arrests and the seizure of 225 illegal firearms. Robberies fell 42 percent, carjackings dropped 85 percent, and overall violent crime declined 25 percent.
According to the White House, recent polls show that 81 percent of Americans view crime as a “major problem” in large cities governed by Democrats.
