Trump announced Friday that he plans to send troops to the Tennessee city next.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young pushed back on any implication that he welcomes President Donald Trump's deployment of National Guard troops to the city, telling CNN on Saturday that he isn't happy about it.
"Well, I'm certainly not happy about the National Guard," Young said in an interview on CNN's "First of All." "I am looking forward to trying to find ways to invest in the things that we're already doing to address crime in our city."
Young's statements counter Trump's characterization of his position.
On Friday, Trump said Young, a Democrat, and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, were both "happy" about the possibility of the impending deployment.
"Memphis is deeply troubled and the mayor is happy, he's a Democrat mayor, ... and the governor -- Tennessee -- the governor is happy," Trump said while announcing the city would be the next location for his purported crime crackdown after Illinois leaders vehemently opposed his efforts to send troops to Chicago.
A White House spokesperson pointed to statements from Tennessee Republicans like Lee and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), who supported the deployment, in a comment to Axios. A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a HuffPost request for comment.
Young added that Trump's announcement on Fox News was his first confirmation that a deployment was officially happening.
"That was the confirmation," Young said, noting that he has received few details about when it will take place and how many troops will be involved.
"With regards to the National Guard, it is something that we don't have a choice in, and we're going to do all that we can to make sure that it has limited impact on our community," Young said. (The state's governor typically oversees its National Guard and Lee is poised to back Trump's plans.)
Young said troops could assist law enforcement with traffic at major events like Memphis Grizzlies games, help review camera footage, and beautify neighborhoods to combat blight.
Trump's decision to focus on Memphis comes after he's repeatedly threatened to send National Guard troops to cities in blue states as he's accused Democrats of failing to combat crime.
The potential deployment in Memphis would mark the first such effort in a Democrat-led city in a red state as the president has been criticized for neglecting areas under the jurisdiction of Republican governors. He has also been scrutinized for failing to take such actions in Republican-led cities, fueling allegations that these maneuvers are politically motivated.
According to an Axios review of the FBI's 2024 data, Memphis has one of the highest violent crime rates of a U.S. city with a population of 100,000 or higher, though it's seen declining rates of certain crimes including homicide in 2025.
Democratic leaders have stressed that Trump's actions aren't an effective means of combating crime and that they could undercut residents' sense of safety.
"The National Guard is trained for combat and crisis response, not for the delicate, complex task of community relations, local policing and building public trust," Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson (D) said, according to a report from WREG Memphis. "Their deployment risks escalating tensions, endangering both civilians and service members, and eroding the very sense of security we seek to protect."