Trump touts Memphis law enforcement surge in Tennessee rally meant to shore up midterm support

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — The rainy remnants of Hurricane Isaias didn’t deter Tennessee Republicans from turning out Saturday to hear President Donald Trump decry state Democrats as “communists” and “socialists,” and praise Tennessee’s federal delegation and the success of the Memphis Safe Task Force. 

“I got a call from your governor, I got a call from the mayor of Memphis, they said ‘We need your help, it’s out of control,’” Trump said.

The president referred to the coalition of federal and state agencies deployed in September 2025 to Memphis, Tennessee’s second-largest city. 

Trump made his second visit in as many weeks to the Volunteer State, speaking to a crowd of about 4,500 inside Clarksville’s 6,000-seat FM Bank Arena. He took the stage 45 minutes past the scheduled 2:30 p.m. start time to the tune of “Proud to Be An American,” the 1984 Lee Greenwood song that has become an anthem of sorts for Republicans. 

Political experts predict Trump’s sagging poll ratings and economic angst spurred by the war in Iran and rising grocery and gas prices could lead to Democrats taking the U.S. House back after waging competitive campaigns in traditionally red states, including Texas, for the Senate. Yet, the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan news outlet analyzing state and federal elections, rates all of Tennessee’s congressional seats as ‘Solidly Republican.’

During a 95-minute speech, Trump ranged back and forth between topics but hewed to themes familiar to followers, including crime, immigration enforcement and claims of rigged elections. 

An April analysis from ProPublica and MLK50, a Memphis outlet, found only 2% of immigration arrests in Memphis were for violent crime, even as detention of immigrants has surged there and across the state since Trump took office in January 2024. 

Agents with the Memphis law enforcement force have shot and killed four men since May. It includes the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee National Guard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Trump’s visit to Tennessee came as part of a monthlong blitz to shore up the GOP’s chances in the midterms. In Clarksville, he praised U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, the Republican nominee for governor, U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty, who is up for reelection and members of the congressional delegation, urging attendees to vote. 

“The communists, socialists, Democrats, they will cheat, they will do whatever,” Trump said. 

Blackburn and Hagerty joined Trump on stage, as did all of Tennessee’s GOP congressmen with the exception of 5th Congressional District U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, who lost in the August primary to former state Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher. 

Blackburn, the last of a roster of Republican elected officials to speak before the president entered, called her Democratic opponent Jerri Green a “radical socialist” and characterized independent gubernatorial candidates David Hatley and Lauren Pinkston as Democrats. 

“I’m the only conservative Republican in the race,” she said. 

Speakers included U.S. Reps. Matt Van Epps of the 7th Congressional District and Scott DesJarlais of the 4th, state Sen. Brent Taylor, running for the 9th Congressional District, state Rep. Johnny Garrett, the Republican nominee in the 4th Congressional District and state House Speaker Cameron Sexton. 

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released this week found Trump’s approval ratings at record lows. 

Outside the arena, a clutch of protesters yelled at Trump-backers to “stay on your side of the street,” a man hawked red “Make America Great Again” hats and Blackburn campaign volunteers handed out yard signs. 

Jenna Baggett, 20, of Dickson and a student at University of South Alabama, which Trump visited on Oct. 2, scrunched her face when asked if she was excited to vote for Blackburn. 

“I’m not excited,” Baggett said. “But I’ll vote for her.”

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Courtesy of Tennessee Lookout