How Memphis Safe Task Force became a battleground for Tennessee Republicans and local Democrats
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, left, speaks alongside Memphis Mayor Paul Young at a press conference at the Memphis Safe Task Force's forward operating base in Shelby Farms Oct. 14, 2025. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)
The move toward a Memphis Safe Task Force first surfaced publicly in August 2025 when President Donald Trump called into a local conservative radio station.
On his eponymous KWAM talk show, host Todd Starnes suggested a deployment of National Guard troops similar to what was already underway in Washington, D.C.
Trump had more to say about other topics but did say he would consider it.
From there, Tennessee Republicans — including U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn and state Sen. Brent Taylor — quickly ramped up the call with their ongoing narrative that crime in the city was out of control and that local, Democrat-led government was not to be trusted to contain it.
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Memphis Safe Task Force Donald Trump Marsha Blackburn Paul Young JB Smiley Jr. Brent Taylor Mickell Lowery Anthony Buckner Lee Harris Subscriber OnlyThank you for reading The Daily Memphian. Your support is critical.
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Bill Dries
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for almost 50 years covering a wide variety of stories from the 1977 death of Elvis Presley and the 1978 police and fire strikes to numerous political campaigns, every county mayor and every Memphis Mayor starting with Wyeth Chandler.
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