President Donald Trump visited Memphis Monday to tout his administration’s crime task force there, telling those gathered at the event he’s “stopped crime” in the city.
Watch the event in our video player above.
Trump formed the Memphis Safe Task Force last fall to crack down on crime in an effort similar to what he undertook in Washington, D.C.
“You haven’t seen it yet. You know we’ve just been here a short while, in another two or three months, you’re going to have, like, no crime,” Trump said.
The Trump administration’s high-profile deployment of federal troops to six U.S. cities had cost taxpayers roughly $496 million through the end of December, and continued deployment could cost over $1 billion for the rest of the year, according to data from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Trump has justified sending National Guard troops into U.S. cities as part of an effort to combat crime and support local law enforcement. Critics of the move argue the deployments undermine state and local authority and exceed the president’s authority under the Constitution.
Trump also said he’ll be making a side trip to Elvis Presley’s Graceland home while in Memphis.
“I’m going to see Graceland after this, I think. Is that right?” Trump said during a meeting of the Memphis Safe Task Force. “I love Elvis.”
READ MORE: Amid Iran war and airport turmoil, Trump makes a detour to Elvis Presley’s Graceland
Trump’s side trip to a top tourist attraction — which has at times ranked as the second most-visited private home in the U.S. after the White House — is a stark contrast to the domestic and international issues on which the president gave updates at the beginning of his remarks in Memphis.
It comes at a time when thousands of Americans across the country are wading through long lines at security checkpoints at airports — and as the U.S. military continues its operations against Iran.
Trump often plays Presley’s music at his campaign rallies, and has at times compared himself to the King of Rock and Roll.
