FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally, July 31, 2024, in Harrisburg, Pa. Trump's false attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris' Black identity have worried top Republicans that Trump may lose a campaign they still see as favorable for him. They say he should focus solely on the economy and immigration. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
President Donald Trump came out strongly in favor of data center construction across the country on Monday, writing on Truth Social that those speaking out against the expensive and resource-intensive projects must want to “end up being backwards and poor.”
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His post comes at a time when data center popularity is plummeting. According to a survey this year by the Pew Research Center, “more Americans say data centers have a negative effect on the environment, home energy costs and people’s quality of life nearby than say they have a positive effect.”
And a Reuters-Ipsos poll in June found that 77% of Americans worry that artificial intelligence will raise their electricity bills.
Trump, however, disagreed with that assessment.
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“If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign,” he wrote Monday. “The good news is that there are plenty of other places that want them. If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame.”
Many lawmakers who support data centers have pitched their development as an existential struggle to defeat China, which is also working to create sophisticated AI technologies.
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Trump highlighted this framing in his message, saying that “China could not be happier” with the anti-data center stances that candidates for both parties have adopted, including some Republicans who previously championed the developments.
For example, just last year Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared his state the “epicenter of AI development” — but this month, he abandoned the claim and halted approvals of about 1,800 new data centers, citing concerns that they use too much power and water.
Nationally, progressive Democrats are pushing a moratorium on the construction of new AI data centers. A bill introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) had faced bipartisan pushback when it was introduced in March, with elected officials from both parties arguing the United States must continue to develop the technology to stay ahead of rival nations.
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