Trump has sought to make crime a central issue, with his administration being involved in an unprecedented police takeover in the US capital Washington DC last month.
His crackdown on Democratic-led municipalities has spurred protests, including a demonstration by several thousand people in Washington DC last weekend.
"We're going to Memphis. Memphis is deeply troubled," Trump said in an interview with Fox News.
"We're going to fix that, just like we did Washington."
Trump said Memphis' mayor, a Democrat, was "happy" with the move.
The office of Memphis Mayor Paul Young did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Memphis, a city of 611,000 people along the Mississippi River, has one of the highest violent crime rates in the United States, according to FBI statistics.
About 24 per cent of residents live in poverty, more than double the United States average, according to the US Census Bureau.
The US Justice Department sent federal agents to help fight violent crime in the city in 2020, during Trump's first term in office.
Republican Governor Bill Lee confirmed on Friday that he was working with Trump's administration to deploy National Guard troops to Memphis as part of a new crime-fighting mission.
The governor said he planned to speak with the president on Friday to work out details of the mission and was working with Trump's team to determine the most effective roles for the Tennessee National Guard, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Memphis Police Department and other law enforcement agencies.
Trump on Friday said he decided to send troops into Memphis after Union Pacific's CEO Jim Vena, who used to regularly visit the city when he served on the board of FedEx, urged him earlier this week to address crime in the city.
On Thursday, Memphis' mayor said he learned earlier this week that the governor and Trump were considering the deployment in Memphis.
"I am committed to working to ensure any efforts strengthen our community and build on our progress," Young's statement said.
What the city needs most, he said, is money for intervention and crime prevention, as well as more officers on patrol and support for bolstering the police department's investigations.
Since sending the National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington DC. Trump has openly mused about sending troops to some of the country's most Democratic cities - including Chicago and Baltimore - even as data indicates most violent crime in those places and around the country has declined in recent years.
Trump has also suggested he could send troops to New Orleans, another Democratic-run city in a Republican-leaning state.
Trump argues that crime is blighting cities like Washington DC, and in recent weeks placed the US capital city's police department under direct federal control and sent federal law enforcement personnel to patrol the city's streets.
with AP
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