The National Guard Carousel Keeps Spinning - Trump Sends Troops to Memphis

Donald Trump has found a new target for his domestic security agenda. After the president already sent the National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington, he announced on Friday that Memphis would also be placed under military supervision. He said this was necessary to "liberate" the city from crime - and this time, the decision was under not only political but also economic pressure. Trump himself said he decided to take this step after Jim Vena, CEO of Union Pacific Railroad, had urgently pointed out the security situation in Memphis during a meeting in the Oval Office earlier this week. Vena, who knows the city well because he previously sat on the board of FedEx, told him that when he visited, he was not allowed to walk even one block on foot and instead was escorted in an armored vehicle. "He said Memphis was out of control," Trump said in an interview on Fox News.

Vena had actually come to the White House to present the advantages of Union Pacific's planned acquisition of Norfolk Southern - a gigantic 85 billion dollar deal that would create the first continuous coast-to-coast rail network and, according to the railroad, speed up freight traffic. But the conversation apparently quickly turned to another topic: public safety. Union Pacific later said that it regularly speaks with communities about security issues to protect employees and cargo - a remarkable statement when one considers that the CEO now had direct influence on a military decision by the president. Trump seized the opportunity to once again recharge his law-and-order rhetoric. "We have to get the cities in order or we will lose them," he said. Memphis was just the beginning, he was already considering further deployments in St. Louis and Chicago - both cities that he has long branded as symbols of "Democrat chaos." The fact that he is taking the advice of a railroad executive highlights how economic interests and public safety debates are intertwined in his White House.

For Memphis, the announcement means that in the coming days heavily armed soldiers will be patrolling the streets. The mayor and the governor had agreed to the deployment, Trump emphasized - but how free that consent really was remains unclear. Civil rights advocates warn of yet another precedent: the deployment of the National Guard in Washington had already sparked massive criticism because it targeted demonstrators rather than criminals. With this new step, the National Guard carousel keeps turning - and faster and faster. Trump presents himself as a strong man who wants to enforce law and order by military means, even though the crime statistics in many of these cities had not recently risen dramatically. For his supporters, this is a signal of resolve, for his opponents a dangerous encroachment on the self-governance of the cities. One thing is certain: with Memphis, another stage has been opened on which Trump wants to demonstrate his domestic power - and this time it is not only police officers but also railroad giants who are setting the pace.