State GOP Officials Seize Trump's "War on Crime" to Disempower Blue Cities

"A calculated pattern is emerging in Donald Trump's planned National Guard deployments: After wobbling on sending the military into Chicago earlier this month, his administration has pivoted toward targeting blue cities in deep red states. Memphis and New Orleans - the two cities Trump has announced he plans to target next - are both Democratic cities in Republican-controlled states, and both also have Black mayors - a seeming prerequisite thus far for the cities that this hard-right administration is targeting."

"Moreover, both cities answer to Republican governors who have indicated their support for Trump's idea of using military boots on the ground in a domestic law enforcement capacity, despite the fact that crime rates in both cities, while still high, have declined significantly since the peaks of the pandemic years. In New Orleans, murders are down by more than a quarter over the past year, and other violent crimes have also declined by double-digit amounts."

"Tennessee's Gov. Bill Lee says he has been discussing a troop deployment with the Trump administration for months, while Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has waxed poetic about sending the military into domestic crime-plagued "war zones." By contrast, the leadership of the cities impacted are less than enthused: Memphis Mayor Paul Young has expressed his displeasure with this development, and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has maintained a studied silence on the topic."

The Trump administration shifted from hesitation over Chicago to focusing on Democratic-led cities located within Republican-governed states. Memphis and New Orleans are primary targets and both have Black mayors. Republican governors in Tennessee and Louisiana have voiced support for deploying military forces domestically, framing the moves as responses to crime. Crime rates in both cities have fallen significantly from pandemic peaks, with New Orleans seeing a more than 25% drop in murders over the past year. City leaders have reacted with displeasure or silence, constrained by limited political options in strongly Republican states.

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