Tangle of ramps for the I-40 interstate interchange around the Renasant Convention Center in Memphis, Tennessee. (Ron Buskirk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
"We'll straighten out the National Guard and anybody else we need," he later added.
The president then touted Memphis as "a great music city" and the "home of Elvis."
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris condemned the move to send troops into the city in a statement to Fox News Digital on Friday.
"The President’s announcement that troops will occupy Tennessee communities is disappointing, anti-democratic, and violates American norms and possibly US laws," Harris stated.
"In the short term, the President’s incursion will likely cause confusion and fear in many of our communities, particularly the most vulnerable ones. In the long term, the mark of Tennessee communities being occupied by federal forces will hurt our state’s reputation for generations," he continued.
GOP SENATORS SAY THEY'RE OPEN TO TRUMP DEPLOYING NATIONAL GUARD IN THEIR STATES' BLUE CITIES
Chair Committee on Platform, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) speaks on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., praised the move as a step forward to curbing urban crime.
"Today, President Trump answered my call to do whatever it takes to Make Memphis Safe Again, and I applaud his decision to send the National Guard to Memphis following his tremendous success in reducing violent crime in Washington, D.C.," she stated.
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The federal surge in Bluff City could also be part of "Operation Viper," which is an effort to have the FBI and the DEA boost their enforcement in West Tennessee.
The White House deferred to the president’s remarks when reached out to by Fox News Digital. Fox News Digital reached out to the mayor of Memphis.
Cameron Arcand is a politics writer at Fox News Digital in Washington D.C. Story tips can be sent to Cameron.Arcand@Fox.com and on Twitter: @cameron_arcand
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-eyes-federal-takeover-blue-city-highest-violent-crime-rate-us-deeply-troubled