Once America’s Most Dangerous City—Now a Crime Comeback Story

Summary

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The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson

Episode: Once America’s Most Dangerous City—Now a Crime Comeback Story

Date: March 28, 2026
Host: Ben Ferguson
Theme: The remarkable turnaround in crime rates in Memphis, Tennessee, under President Donald Trump’s administration, showcasing broader national trends in falling crime rates attributed to federal intervention, strict law enforcement, and new policy priorities.

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Episode Overview

This episode focuses on the dramatic reduction of crime in Memphis, once labeled "America's Most Dangerous City." Host Ben Ferguson explores how a shift in federal strategy and a presidential task force—initiated by Donald Trump—have led to double-digit drops in crime statistics. The narrative contrasts previous Democratic approaches to law enforcement with current aggressive policies, delving into specific Memphis achievements and broader national implications.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Nationwide Decline in Crime Under Trump Administration

[04:12 – 07:30]

• Crime is dropping: Major U.S. cities, particularly those with liberal leadership, report “double-digit drops in violent crime.” Homicides, property crimes, and shootings are all declining.
• Causal factors: Ferguson attributes this turnaround directly to the Trump administration's focus on:
  • Returning to “back the blue” policing
  • Increased federal backing for local police
  • Aggressive prosecution of violent and repeat offenders
  • Federal involvement in high-crime metro areas
• Contrast in tactics:
  • Under prior (Democratic) strategies: “police should be cut back, enforcement should be reduced, and criminals should be given more leniency and more second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth chances.”
  • Under Trump: “We will always back the blue. That wasn’t just a slogan. It literally became their policy.”

Memorable Quote

“Across the country, major cities are reporting double digit drops in violent crime. In many liberal metro areas, homicides are down significantly from their recent peaks.”
— News Host ([04:27])

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Memphis: From ‘Murder Capital’ to Comeback Story

[07:30 – 13:00]

• Memphis context: Notoriously high crime, averaging “far more than one murder per day,” a crime rate “higher than Colombia, Mexico City, or Baghdad.” ([09:06])
• Trump’s involvement:
  • Instituted the Memphis Safe Task Force (established September 2025 via presidential memo)
  • Task force modeled on earlier successes in Washington, D.C.
  • Results after just a few months:
    • Overall crime down 43% (Fox 13 Memphis, March 18 report)
    • Motor vehicle thefts down 67%
    • Robberies down 51%
    • Sexual assaults down 38%
    • Homicides down 35%
    • Burglaries down 32%
    • Aggravated assaults down 31%
• Federal strategy:
  • Targeted law enforcement actions on “the most dangerous criminals,” including gang members, drug traffickers, and undocumented individuals with criminal records.

Memorable Quote

“This catastrophe was a result of years of local politicians, judges and prosecutors decided with violent criminals over law-abiding citizens.”
— Donald Trump ([09:29])

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Leadership, Messaging, and Morale

[06:30 – 08:30]

• Law enforcement morale: Improving with the sense that the White House “had their back.”
• Federal-local partnership: Trump admin increases support and resources to local agencies.
• President’s message: “To law enforcement, the President said, hey, I got you. Do your job. We support you. And to the criminals… we’re coming for you.”

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Trump’s Statements—Oval Office and Memphis Visit

[09:06, 11:41]

• At Memphis Task Force Roundtable:
  • Trump recounts the city’s dire crime statistics and directly credits federal involvement for turning things around.
• Oval Office remarks (September 2025):

“Today, at the request of Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee, who’s standing with us as you know, I’m signing a presidential memorandum to establish the Memphis Safe Task Force... We’re going to take care of all of them step by step, just like we did in D.C.”
— Donald Trump ([11:41])

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Political Response and Public Sentiment

[12:30 – 13:30]

• Democratic pushback: Memphis mayor absent, Democratic leaders critical, but Ferguson and guests emphasize Americans’ support for policies that produce tangible results.
• White House commitment: Trump vows continued involvement in Memphis and expansion to more cities.
• Host’s perspective: This quick, data-backed transformation is presented as historic—“the president’s doing it in a matter of months”—contrasting with politicians’ claims that such change usually takes years.

Quote

“If you’re an American and it doesn’t matter where you live right now, you should be proud of the President United States of America pulling this off so quickly... That is truly historic.”
— News Host ([13:08])

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Donald Trump on Memphis Crime Stats:

  “Memphis had become known for something else. Being the murder capital of the USA... with a crime rate higher than Colombia, Mexico City or Baghdad in the year. I shouldn’t be saying this because, but here’s the good news. It’s been fixed.”
  ([09:06])

• Trump on Previous Leadership:

  “This catastrophe was a result of years of local politicians, judges and prosecutors decided with violent criminals over law abiding citizens.”
  ([09:29])

• Governor Bill Lee on Federal Response:

  “Today, at the request of Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee... I’m signing a presidential memorandum to establish the Memphis Safe Task Force.”
  ([11:41], Trump quoting)

• News Host Reflects on Speed of Change:

  “From a meeting in the Oval Office in September to massive reductions in crime come March—that is truly historic. Usually this is something politicians say takes years or multiple election cycles. The president’s doing it in a matter of months.”
  ([13:08])

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Nationwide Crime Drops, Underlying Strategy: [04:12 – 07:30]
• Memphis Before and After Crime Data: [09:06 – 10:54]
• Trump and Memphis Task Force – Presidential Remarks: [11:41 – 12:35]
• Political Reaction and Expansion Promise: [12:37 – 13:30]

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Summary Tone & Final Thoughts

Ben Ferguson delivers a triumphalist, unapologetically pro-Trump narrative outlining dramatic positive change in Memphis as a model for the nation. The tone is assertive, direct, and sometimes combative toward past Democratic-led policies, while emphasizing real-world impacts, improved law enforcement morale, and federal-local partnership. Ferguson frames these developments not only as a policy victory but as a national shift toward “safety as a fundamental right.”

For listeners seeking a concise yet thorough recap of the policy changes, statistical outcomes, and political context shaping America’s urban crime landscape—especially through the lens of Memphis—this episode provides both granular detail and big-picture analysis.

Transcript

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[Ben Ferguson]

You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.

[News Host]

Good Saturday morning. So nice to have you with us on the 47 Morning Update. And we've got a big story for you. President Donald Trump goes to Memphis, Tennessee to talk about a massive reduction in that liberal city with crime statistics literally saving countless lives. So why did the mayor in Memphis not show up? And why are Democrats angry that crime is being lowered all over the country where President Trump gets involved? It's the 47 Morning Update and it starts right now. Crime in America, it is dropping. And it's not happening by accident. It's happening because for the first time in years, there is a president in the White House who made one thing clear from day one. We're going to go back to policing. We are going to enforce the laws that we have on the books and we're going to take our streets back so that all Americans can feel safe. Now let's talk facts because the numbers are truly Incredible. And they don't lie. Across the country, major cities are reporting double digit drops in violent crime. In many liberal metro areas, homicides are down significantly from their recent peaks. Property crime stabilizing after years of spikes. In some cities, we're seeing murder rates down 10 to 20% year over year. Shootings are declining as targeted enforcement is ramped up under Trump's leadership. And law enforcement officials are pointing to some very specific things that are allowing for all this to happen. Number one, a shift in federal posture that all because of the president. Also a shift in priorities from federal law enforcement. And then the biggest part, a shift in leadership from the White House. All the way down. Now, let's be honest, this didn't start in a vacuum. For years we were told police should be cut back, enforcement should be reduced, and criminals should be given more leniency and more second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth chances. What happened? Under the Democrats plan, crime surged, cities became less safe, communities paid the price, and Americans lost their lives. Then President Trump came in and flipped the script. From day one, the Trump administration said, we will always back the blue. That wasn t just a slogan. It literally became their policy. Federal support for local police departments has increased. Prosecutors were encouraged to pursue violent offenders aggressively. And repeat offenders were targeted instead of being released. And just as important, police morale started going back up. In this country, when officers know the White House had their back, they got to do their jobs more efficiently. And criminals knew it. Now, targeting the worst offenders was also part of the plan. It was another major shift. Going after the most dangerous criminals first, violent repeat offenders, gang members, drug traffickers, illegal immigrants with hardcore criminal records. That is where ICE operations and federal partnerships came into play. Instead of ignoring the problem, the administration leaned in arresting thousands of high risk individuals, removing threats from communities, sending a message that lawlessness will not be tolerated. Now, Trump's message had always been simple. Law and order. He ran on it. And President Trump has been consistent, saying, we will not allow our cities to be taken over by crime. And he's emphasized that safety is not political. It's fundamental to a great country, saying every American deserves to live in a safe community. And that message is clearly resonating with many Americans who are living in really high crime neighborhoods. To law enforcement, the President said, hey, I got you. Do your job. We support you. And to the criminals, the President said, the rules are being enforced again, so get ready because we're coming for you. So is it working? Yes. Crime rates have dropped significantly. And if you want to look at one example, of that. Look at what the President did in Memphis, Tennessee. On Monday. He said, we fixed the Memphis crime problem. That obviously is my hometown. And President Trump declared on Monday that the crime problem has been solved through the Memphis Safe Task Force. Now, Trump's comments came during a Memphis task force roundtable where he highlighted high levels of crime in the city the year he returned to the Oval Office. Here's part of what the President had to say.

[Donald Trump]

But for years prior to our involvement, Memphis had become known for something else. Being the murder capital of the usa, then not a good title. It was averaging far more than one murder per day, with a crime rate higher than Colombia, Mexico City or Baghdad in the year. I shouldn't be saying this because, but here's the good news. It's been fixed.

[Governor Bill Lee]

All right.

[Donald Trump]

I hate to say this because it's so negative. It's so negative. In the year before I took office, Memphis saw more than 12,500 violent assaults, 429 rapes and 7,600 burglaries and armed Romney robberies. And I mean it was and getting worse. This catastrophe was a result of years of local politicians, judges and prosecutors decided with violent criminals over law abiding citizens

[News Host]

over law abiding citizens. It was an average far more than one murder per day. That is what the people of Memphis were dealing with. With a crime rate higher than Columbia, Mexico City or even Baghdad, that's something that the media never wanted you to know. He said crime levels were the products of years of local politicians, judges and prosecutors who sided with the violent criminals over the law abiding citizens. Fox 13 Memphis report on March 18 that overall crime in the city is down 43% compared to the same period in 2025 before Trump instituted the task force. Meanwhile, the White House shared figures Monday, underscoring the stark drop in specific crime categories. Motor vehicle thefts down 67%, robberies in Memphis down 51%, sexual assaults down 38%, homicides are down 35%, burglaries are down 32% and aggravated assaults are down 31%. Now, Trump announced back in September efforts to crack down on crime in Memphis on the heels of his immediate success in dealing with crime in Washington, D.C. on September 15, he signed a memo establishing the Memphis task force. And what happened? Well, it's truly incredible. The numbers don't lie. Here's what the president had to say from the Oval Office when he started this back in September.

[Governor Bill Lee]

Today, at the request of Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee, who's standing with us as you know, I'm signing a presidential memorandum to establish the Memphis Safe Task Force. And it's very important because of the crime that's going on, not only in Memphis, in many cities, and. And we're going to take care of all of them step by step, just like we did in D.C. we have virtually no crime in D.C. right now, and we're going to keep it that way. It's our nation's capital. We're going to keep it that way or we're going to federalize it if we had to. But we don't have to anymore because it's in such great shape. This task force will be a replica of our extraordinarily successful efforts here. And you'll see it's a lot of the same thing. Although the numbers here are really something, they're really bad. Now, we did send FBI in about four months ago to work, and it brought some of the numbers down and they did a great job. But we're sending in the big force now.

[News Host]

You got to ask yourself this question. Why would the President, United States of America, do something like this in liberal cities? It's because he truly believes that every American has the right to be safe, he said. It's very important because the crime that's going on, not only in Memphis and many cities, and we're going to take care of all them step by step, just like we did in D.C. trump said all of this as he was standing by the Governor of Tennessee, Bill Lee, Senator Marsha Blackburn, and Bill Hagerty, making it clear that we are moving forward. We have virtually no crime in D.C. right now, the president reminded the country. And we're going to keep it that way. He added, it's our nation's capital. We're going to keep it that way or we're going to federalize it if we had to. But we don't have to anymore because it's in such great shape now. If you're an American and it doesn't matter where you live right now, you should be proud of the President. United States of America. Pulling this off so quickly from a meeting in the Oval Office in September to massive reductions in crime come March, that is truly historic. Usually this is something politicians say take years or multiple election cycles. The president's doing it in a matter of months. Why? Because the president said to law enforcement, we have your back. Do your job. And the president also made it clear, we're not leaving. We're going to continue to be involved in Memphis and other cities, and there are more cities that we're going to be targeting soon. So Democrats can say all they want to that they hate President Trump, but the American people, it's pretty clear they're happy with what the President's doing right now.

[Ben Ferguson]

Thank you for listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson. Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever you're listening to this podcast right now and for more in depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson Podcast and we will see you back here on Monday morning.

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