CORINTH, Mississippi — Memphis emerged as one of the crown jewels of President Donald Trump's "tough on crime" policy during his speech across the state line on Oct. 26. He spoke about the Tennessee city at a campaign rally in Corinth, Mississippi, on behalf of Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.
As he touted his administration's positive impact on crime rates around the country, he pointed to his September 2025 deployment of the National Guard to "restore law and order" to Memphis as an example of his work.
"I got a call from the governor saying, 'We have a problem,'" Trump said. After more than a year of the National Guard in town, Trump said, "we have the crime down 82% in Memphis, 81% in New Orleans."
The crowd erupted in cheers, with some small groups
in the upper tier of the arena calling out, "law and order." Trump continued bragging about the statistics from the Guard's stint in the state's second-largest city.
"In Memphis alone, we arrested 13,000 dangerous, career criminals and removed more than 2,000 illegal firearms from the hands of some of the worst criminals you've ever seen," he said.
Corinth is about 90 minutes from Memphis.
Bea Anhuci is the state government reporter for the Clarion Ledger. She has covered Mississippi politics since the start of 2026. Email her at banhuci@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Trump takes credit for reducing Memphis crime at speech in MS
