President Donald J. Trump traveled to Memphis Monday. He wanted to highlight the remarkable progress in restoring safety. Memphis has long been ranked among the nation’s most dangerous cities.
While in Memphis, he decided to fulfill a personal bucket list item. He visited Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley.
Alongside Pam Bondi, his Attorney General and others, Angie Marchese, vice president of Graceland’s Archives and Exhibits, was able to take them a quick tour.
Trump examined an Army helmet from the movie GI Blues that once belonged to Elvis. He also walked through the kitchen. At one point, Marchese held up the “Gold Attendance Belt.” This was the piece Elvis used during his 1970 visit to the White House to meet President Richard Nixon.
Standing inside the Memphis estate, Trump called it “a very special place.” He reflected on Elvis’s cultural reach. He also mentioned that historic Oval Office meeting from more than five decades ago.
The moment blended politics and pop culture in a way only Memphis can — a sitting U.S. president standing where the King once stood, looking at artifacts tied to a White House visit that still sparks curiosity today.
Trump was greeted by Graceland CEO Jack Soden and Elvis Presley Enterprises executive Joel Weinshanker when he entered the front door.
In November 2018, Soden accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump on Elvis’ behalf. This occurred at the only house in the nation that receives more yearly visitors than Graceland. That house is the White House.
Priscilla Presley originally selected Soden to run Graceland because he optimistically believed in her vision. Together, they began touring the homes of other famous figures that were being run as tourist attractions.
These included Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and George Washington’s Mount Vernon in Virginia, the Biltmore mansion in North Carolina, and even the Thomas Edison House in New Jersey.
Presley’s favorite was Hearst Castle in San Simeon, Calif. Publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst’s home was operated the way she hoped Graceland would be. Everything was left as it originally was.
With notes in hand from each of these home tours, Soden devised a plan for opening Graceland. He and Presley remember having no idea how many fans would show up the first day.
“You’d expect maybe that the diehard fans would be there, but it was the future we didn’t know,” Soden said. “But they came in great numbers and they kept coming.”
Graceland opened to a strong crowd on the Monday morning of June 7, 1982. It did so with a healthy dose of optimism and 14 Dodge vans to shuttle visitors. During the following weeks, tours were extremely well attended. In just over a month, Soden and Presley made back the full $500,000 investment they had secured to open Graceland.
Since then, Graceland has become a staple of American culture, with references abounding in songs, television shows, feature films. Besides Trump, it has been visited by presidents Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush, musicians Paul McCartney and Taylor Swift, and athletes Peyton Manning and Muhammad Ali.
Even foreign dignitaries have made the trip to Graceland. These include Prince Albert II of Monaco, Prince William of England, and former Costa Rican president Oscar Arias. In 2006, Graceland received National Historic Landmark status. In the same year, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made a joint visit with then-President George W. Bush.
“The prime minister, we knew he was a huge Elvis fan, and he was just beside himself,” Soden said. “He was so excited. It’s times like that that would just make you go, ‘Man, I wouldn’t miss this for the world.’”
Graceland isn’t just a tourist stop. It’s part of American memory — music, celebrity, and a strange little chapter where Elvis once asked to help fight drugs in the Nixon era.
Memphis Crime is Way Down
President Trump led the Memphis Safe Task Force. This was a decisive and aggressive federal intervention. It involved the National Guard and a host of federal agencies. This effort has crushed violent crime where the policies of Democrats had failed.
The results are undeniable. They are proof that strong leadership, tough enforcement, and zero tolerance for criminals deliver real public safety. These measures transform communities.
Since operations began, the Memphis Safe Task Force has driven a massive drop in crime:
More than 7,416 arrests, including hundreds tied to homicides, sexual offenses, gang violence, and drug trafficking.
1,219 illegal firearms seized, getting deadly weapons off the streets and out of the hands of thugs who have terrorized the community.
150 missing children safely located, bringing families back together and rescuing the most vulnerable.
Crime statistics tell the story of clear success:
Overall crime in Memphis is down more than 43% compared to the same period last year — a dramatic drop from the bloodshed ushered in by the failed policies of the past.
Motor vehicle thefts are down 67%.
Robberies are down 51%.
Sexual assaults are down 38%.
Homicides are down 35%.
Burglaries are down 32%.
Aggravated assaults are down 31%.
Last year, the city recorded fewer than 200 murders for the first time since 2019, with shootings dropping nearly 40% from the previous year.
“We do have a desire in Tennessee to partner with the Trump Administration,” Governor Mike Lee said. “The first thing I want to say is thank you to President Trump. We requested, and he is providing, a full complement of federal resources to address crime — which is a serious problem in a great city… We’ve been working with the Trump Administration for months on a strategy for Memphis… We now will have resources to finally address an issue that has really dragged on for way too long.”
Sen. Marsha Blackburn acknowledged that “Tennesseans are grateful for what the Trump administration is doing to rid Memphis of violent crime and restore law and order in this great city. This is a long-term effort to Make Memphis Safe Again. Thank you, @realDonaldTrump!”
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It’s a master stroke. Restore safety, visit the city, talk to everyone, and visit Graceland. Memphis will be his new best friend, and it’ll be real. Look at all their faces; everyone is having a good time. This nation needs some good times! We are all worn out.
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