Trump is now sending the National Guard to Memphis. There is no denying that Memphis has a serious crime problem, and the governor of Tennessee did not object, so this particular intrusion into local governance doesn’t raise constitutional issues. But it does raise a practical question: if the National Guard is really needed to patrol the streets of the city, why didn’t the governor send troops there on his own authority years ago?
The obvious answer is that this is theater intended to give the impression that Donald Trump is Batman, not a serious effort to reduce crime.