Communities that try to keep AI data centers out are choosing to be left behind, President Trump argued Monday. "The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor," the president posted on Truth Social, urging local leaders to "let Data Reign" if they want jobs, lower taxes, and more revenue. He warned that if politicians and towns "kill the Golden Goose," referring to AI, "they will only have themselves to blame," adding that China "could not be happier" about domestic pushback, the Hill reports.
That pushback is sizable. A Fox News survey last month found 70% of respondents opposed building an AI-supporting data center nearby, including majorities of both Republicans and Democrats. Critics cite the environmental and economic impact: a mid-sized facility can consume around 110 million gallons of water annually for cooling, roughly what 1,000 households use in a year. Tech firms like Meta, Amazon, and Google have pledged to cover higher energy costs tied to their facilities, but that hasn't stopped candidates in battleground states from backing new limits on data center development.
Vice President JD Vance said Monday that much of the backlash has come in areas "where building a data center means higher utility and higher electricity for the people on the ground," the Wall Street Journal reports. "If you build the data center, you should be putting power back into the grid, not taking it out," Vance added. Earlier this month, Trump said he didn't object to some Republican candidates opposing data centers, saying "some people feel differently" on the issue. Last week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who previously hailed his state as the "epicenter of AI," said companies that failed to get local support before building data centers deserve the backlash.
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