Memphis, Tennessee, is the next US city where President Donald Trump is sending National Guard troops as part of his ongoing crackdown on crime in Democrat-led cities.

Trump made the announcement during a wide-ranging interview on Fox News Channel’s Fox and Friends on Friday, and said the city’s mayor, a Democrat, is “happy” about the decision, as is the state’s governor, a Republican.

The deployment to Memphis would mark an escalation in the president’s use of troops and comes roughly a month after he sent the National Guard to the streets of Washington DC.

Memphis has one of the highest rates of crime in the US, with 2,501 violent crimes per 100,000 people, FBI data shows.

“We’re going to Memphis,” Trump said, without giving details of when troops would arrive. “Memphis is deeply troubled.”

The president said he also wanted to lower crime in New Orleans, Baltimore and Chicago.

The country has been wondering for weeks if he would deploy troops to Chicago, as his “Operation Midway Blitz” for immigration enforcement ramps up.

On Friday, Trump appeared to indicate he had chosen to send the National Guard to Memphis instead of the mid-western city, saying “I would have preferred going to Chicago.”

“I want to be clear I didn’t ask for the National Guard and I don’t think it’s the way to drive down crime, however that decision has been made,” Memphis Mayor Paul Young said at a press conference on Friday afternoon.

He said his goal is to make sure that the deployment happens in a strategic way that “truly benefits and strengthens our community”.

Earlier in the week, Young released a statement saying he had been in talks with the Trump administration about bringing in federal support for the city’s police department.

“What we need most are financial resources for intervention and prevention, additional patrol officers, and case support to strengthen investigations,” Young said.

“Memphis is already making measurable progress in bringing down crime, and we support initiatives that help accelerate the pace of the work our officers, community partners, and residents are doing every day.”

Trump took charge of Washington DC’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) on 11 August and activated the National Guard.

The takeover was valid for 30 days, which expired earlier this week.

Hundreds of arrests were made during that time, the White House said, and Trump has declared that DC is now “virtually crime free”.

Despite that, troops are expected to remain in the nation’s capital for the foreseeable future, and many of them can be seen around the city helping with trash collection and mulching.

The use of the National Guard to support law enforcement has come under scrutiny by legal experts, with some concerned about using the military against civilians.

A court recently said Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles earlier this year was unlawful, but said the ruling does not apply to the deployment of troops elsewhere.