Bondi Reaches Out to Dem Officials In Move to Broaden Crimefighting Effort
The Trump administration is moving beyond partisan lines as it urges Democratic mayors and governors to join a nationwide law-and-order revival—one shaped directly by President Donald J. Trump’s aggressive crackdown on violent crime. Attorney General Pam Bondi traveled to Memphis, Tenn., this week to highlight what the administration sees as a model of Trump-era crime reduction: the Memphis Safe Task Force, a program the Washington Reporter noted has already produced measurable results.
Bondi appeared alongside a slate of Tennessee leaders, including Sens. Bill Hagerty (R., Tenn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.), Gov. Bill Lee (R., Tenn.), Rep. David Kustoff (R., Tenn.), HUD Secretary Scott Turner, U.S. Marshals Service Director Gady Serralta, Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, and Tyreece Miller, the U.S. Marshal for Tennessee.
“In 2024, Memphis had the highest violent crime rate in the country,” Bondi said. “No longer, thanks to the leadership of President Trump and our dedicated men and women in law enforcement.”
Asked what she hoped Democratic officials would take away from Memphis’s turnaround, Bondi didn’t mince words.
“We want to help all governors, we want to help all mayors who need President Trump’s help,” she told the outlet. “Look what we’ve done in D.C., look what Donald Trump’s leadership has done right here in Memphis. You don’t have to be in the same political party, clearly.
“This is about keeping Americans safe. If you want to talk to anyone, go out and talk to the residents of Memphis, who have been very vocal about what has been done by the leadership of all the people behind me and sitting in this audience to make their great city safe again. We want to help anyone regardless of political party,” she added.
Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, stressed the contrast between the President’s law-and-order philosophy and the permissive policies adopted by many progressive jurisdictions.
“Tolerating crime is a choice,” she said. “This adminustration chooses law and order…We will not coddle violent criinals at the expense of law abiding citizens.”
According to Bondi, the Memphis Safe Task Force has delivered undeniable results. Compared to the same 56-day period last year, murders are down more than 50 percent, sexual assaults are down over 40 percent, and robberies have dropped around 60 percent. She also announced that 121 missing children had been located and brought to safety.
“Overall serious crime is down 45 percent…we are reversing the trend,” she said.
State and federal partners echoed the message, emphasizing that Memphis could become the blueprint for cities across the country.
“We have been tracking to the street level where violent crime has been happening in Memphis,” House Speaker Sexton told the outlet. “The enhanced focus with the additional resources from the federal, state and local entities have lowered Memphis’s crime to a 20 year low in just 56 days.
“Public safety should not be a partisan issue, we all should want our children to feel safe to ride their bikes and experience freedom and peace,” he continued.
Sen. Blackburn reinforced the point, insisting that the momentum in Memphis could guide a national revival.
“We want Memphis to be the safest city in the country,” she said. “We know this will be a longterm effort…Memphis can be the model for the rest of the country on how you come together as a team, how you fight violent crime, how you don’t stop and you don’t give up, but you keep getting these results.”
For Gov. Lee, the reforms hit close to home. As the Reporter noted, he described himself as “a seventh-generation Tennessean, as someone who’s lived here my entire life, who’s loved the city of Memphis, whose grandparents lived six blocks from the river,” adding that crime has placed a “burden…on this city for far too long. This is Thanksgiving week, and this is a governor who has a deep debt of gratitude” for those who have worked to keep the city safe during what he called a “historic” period for Memphis.