CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — President Donald Trump used a Saturday midterm rally at F and M Bank Arena to praise the Memphis Safe Task Force and urge Tennesseans to back Republican candidates ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
Speaking for more than 90 minutes to a crowd reported near 4,500 inside the roughly 6,000-seat arena, Trump said Gov. Bill Lee and Memphis Mayor Paul Young had asked for federal help because crime was out of control. He pointed to the coalition of federal and state agencies deployed in Memphis since September 2025.
Trump called on voters to reelect U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty and to elect U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn as governor. Both joined him on stage. He also brought congressional candidates to the stage, including Brent Taylor in the 9th District race centered on Memphis, and attacked Democratic opponents in those contests.
A Clarksville report said early voting in Tennessee begins Oct. 14 and that Trump asked the crowd to treat the midterms as if his own name were on the ballot. He highlighted economic projects elsewhere in the state, including a planned Korea Zinc smelter investment he tied to tariffs and a General Motors investment at Spring Hill.
Coverage of the visit framed it as part of a broader push to shore up Republican midterm support. Local and statewide reporting said Trump again cast Tennessee Democrats as socialists or communists while arguing the Memphis enforcement surge shows his public-safety approach.
Memphis remains the focus of the task-force debate Trump used as a applause line. City leadership under Mayor Paul Young and the state congressional slate featuring Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Sen. Bill Hagerty were named repeatedly as Trump tied Memphis crime policy to the statewide ballot.
