Blue City Bullying
After deploying over 2,000 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. under the guise of cracking down on supposed out of control crime, Trump recently widened his focus to include other democratic-led cities. Portland, Oregon and Memphis, Tennessee have been named next on his list following a rising number in protests against his administration's immigration enforcement efforts.
Portland, Oregon
Before officially ordering the deployment of the National Guard in Portland, Trump warned the city through a Truth Social post, writing, “I am directing Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists. I am also authorizing Full Force, if necessary."
This post is referencing the continuous protesting outside of Portland’s local Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities.
The governor of Oregon and the mayor of Portland have both refuted the president's claims that the city is unsafe.
In an attempt to push back, some of the state’s top officials, including the governor and Portland’s mayor, filed for a federal lawsuit arguing the administration had overreached and acted unlawfully.
The US federal judge in charge of this case temporarily blocked the order on Oct. 5 after finding no justification for National Guard troops to be deployed. The demonstrations outside of the ICE facilities did not exhibit any characteristics of “rebellion” and local law enforcement was deemed fit to handle the protests without military intervention.
The block will remain in place until at least Oct. 19, though it is expected that the Trump administration will appeal this decision as soon as possible.
Memphis, Tennessee
On Sept. 15, Trump signed a presidential memorandum sending the National Guard and other federal law enforcement agents to Memphis, Tennessee, in hopes of combating crime, officially making it the third city, after Los Angeles and Washington D.C., to see National Guard troops on its streets this year.
The president went forward with the action “at the request” of Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who has reportedly been in “constant communication” with the administration for months planning anti-crime efforts.
Regardless of the fact that Memphis police recently reported a decrease in crime rates in almost every major crime category during the first 8 months of 2025 compared to that of previous years, the reasoning behind National Guard deployment to the city is all in the name of combating crime.
“The effort will include the National Guard as well as the FBI, ATF, DEA, ICE, Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S, Marshals,” said Trump on the day of the signing.
On the other hand, Memphis’ Mayor Paul Young is not as thrilled with this decision as the Tennessee governor.
“I did not ask for the National Guard, and I don’t think it's the way to drive down crime,” said Young at a news conference.
While he may not be in support of bringing in major federal law enforcement agents, he acknowledges the city’s high crime rates and has listed his goal to help “strategize on how they engage in this community,” and believes they can best help the city through the implementation of beautification efforts: “clearing more vacant lots, removing more trash, and restoring more blocks.”
NYC Funding and Zohran Mamdani
Trump’s threats have also made their way over to New York for the city’s current mayoral election. The ongoing tension between mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and the president increased after Trump recently renewed his threat to create major financial disruption by withholding federal funding from the city if Zohran Mamdani is elected as Mayor.
“He is going to have problems with Washington like no Mayor in the history of our once great City,” wrote Trump in a Truth Social post on Sept. 29, “Remember, he needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfill all of his FAKE Communist promises. He won’t be getting any of it.”
Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, has stressed that he does not identify as a communist or as having communist views.
During a press conference last month, he responded to Trump’s post by saying the president is “going through the stages of grief.” He then assured the public of his dedication to fighting against any federal attempts to withhold funds from the city in the future.
Without federal funding, Mamdani’s running platform based on affordability is in trouble. Some of his biggest affordability promises include a rent freeze, free childcare, and free buses.
If Trump were to uphold his promise to pull federal funding, legal challenges similar to that of New York State’s recent lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security for withholding disaster relief due to its immigration enforcement policies would likely follow.
This threat renewal comes after Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa has refused to drop out of the election despite immense pressure from several figures, including those at the White House. Many of those trying to persuade Sliwa to drop believe Mamdani will defeat nominee Andrew Cuomo if it is not brought down to a two-man race.
Current Mayor Eric Adams suspended his campaign last month after facing similar pressures.
What Can We Do?
While we can’t directly stop the Trump administration’s National Guard deployment efforts, it is important we keep exercising our right to peacefully protest and make our voices heard.
Another way we can influence how things are handled is through our representatives. Vote for representatives who have your best interest at heart and call your local and state representatives to voice your opinions so they know what the people they represent want.
