President Donald Trump’s decision to send the national guard to Memphis has been met with praise from Republicans in Washington, D.C., but closer to home, the response has been more tepid.
Republican Gov. Bill Lee, a longtime ally of President Trump, had not mentioned a national guard deployment when he announced sending additional state troopers to the city this week. At the time, he said that “nothing is off the table.”
Last month, he indicated to reporters that there was no need to send the guard, citing a report that found crime in Memphis had dropped 15% year-over-year.
“We’ve made significant investments toward public safety in Memphis. $150 million in intervention grant funds and vast expansion of troopers there,” Lee said.
On Friday, Lee released a statement, saying that his office has been in “constant communication” with the Trump administration and that he will be meeting with the president to “work out details.” Lee stressed that the guardsmen will operate in tandem with existing efforts to combat crime.
“We are working closely with the Trump Administration to determine the most effective role for each of these agencies to best serve Memphians,” Lee said. “As one of America’s world-class cities, Memphis remains on a path to greatness, and we are not going to let anything hold them back.”
Lee’s office did not answer WPLN’s questions as to whether the governor had asked Trump to mobilize the guard or what the guard’s official duties will be. Memphis won’t see boots on ground for at least a few weeks.
State senators who represent Memphis have decried the decision. Like Lee, they point to statistics that show crime in the city is at a 25-year low.
“Memphis is not a war zone — it’s a city making progress,” Sen. London Lamar, D-Memphis, said in a statement. “When the troops leave, crime issues will come right back because Trump is choosing cheap political theater over the hard work of strengthening a community.”
Lamar called on Trump to restore the federal funding he cut from police and crime prevention programs in April.
Tennessee Sen. Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, told WPLN News that the city has not seen anything like this since the national guard was deployed in the aftermath of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.
“It’s not the city saying, ‘Hey, we need additional help,'” Akbari said. “It is the federal government, the president of the United States, sending in the National Guard, which historically occurred in the South when there were segregationists that refused to integrate schools.”
Akbari said she hopes the troops deployed to Memphis will help with infrastructure or blight.
“I do know that hopefully, ultimately, our local law enforcement is in the driver’s seat there,” Akbari said.
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