Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) said his “Make Memphis Matter” initiative is being countered by liberal policies which he said are making “Memphians madder.”
Taylor, during an appearance Thursday on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, used the left’s opposition to the plan by Elon Musk and xAI to build the world’s largest supercomputer in Memphis as an example of efforts “making some Memphians madder.”
Noting how Musk’s project has drawn immense backlash on multiple fronts, Taylor dismissed the criticism as politically motivated and constantly shifting.
“Those that are protesting, they keep moving the goalposts,” Taylor explained, explaining how initial objections to the supercomputer focused on water usage from the Memphis aquifer then shifted to ecological concerns and eventually energy concerns.
Taylor said through all of the concerns surrounding his investment in Memphis, Musk has seeked to eliminate the controversy by funding an $80 million wastewater recycling plant to provide gray water for cooling the facility and nearby industries and the construction of a transformer substation to support the power needs of the facility – all at no cost to the city.
“If the bullhorn blowhards would work as hard to fight crime as they are working to fight Elon Musk, we would solve our crime problem in Memphis,” Taylor said.
Taylor went on to discuss Memphis’s ongoing battle with violent crime, citing recent remarks by FBI Director Kash Patel identifying Memphis as having the highest per capita homicide rate in the country.
The state senator said he “welcomes” an FBI task force reportedly being sent to address Memphis’ crime crisis whether or not the city takes the title as murder capital of the country, acknowledging that he’s been “working harder than a clown at a funeral trying to bring attention to the crime issue.”
“I’m not sure we’re the murder capital of the country. I think St. Louis probably has that distinction, but look, by any objective standard, whether we’re the first or the 10th or the 20th, or the last, I still welcome the FBI to come down here with a task force to try to help us solve our crime issue. Whether we’re the murder capital of the world or we’re the second, third, or fourth runner up, it really doesn’t matter. I welcome the help,” Taylor said.
Taylor went on to discuss his “Make Memphis Matter” initiative, which he said has been met with backlash from those on the left.
He recounted a recent incident in which he coordinated having a burned-out car removed from a major thoroughfare – only to be criticized for the deed as he referred to the eyesore as “as appealing as a lingerie department in a Goodwill store.”
“The liberals came out of the woodwork. They got so wrapped up in how I said it, that they didn’t even recognize the significance of what we had actually gotten done,” Taylor said.
“These liberals down here in Memphis, I could walk on water and they would b-tch because I don’t know how to swim,” he added. “Their policies and the way they run the city and our county down here is making Memphis madder. I’ll tell you what’s wrong with liberals’ brains is that on the left side there’s nothing left, and on the right side there’s nothing right.”
Taylor went on to stress the importance of elections, emphasizing how voter participation is essential for ushering in genuine change for Memphis; from school board races to candidates elected to represent the city in the Tennessee General Assembly.
“We just have to try to get our voters out to the next election, try to make a difference, because elections do have consequences,” he said.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
