President Donald Trump is reportedly standing firmly behind data centers, arguing Monday morning that any community pushing back against the AI-powering facilities is setting itself up for economic decline.
Data centers have become a hot-button issue on the campaign trail for many Republicans, particularly in critical swing states like Ohio and Michigan, where opposition to the massive facilities has grown increasingly heated.
Trump didn’t mince words in his defense of the technology, taking to Truth Social to make his case.
“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. If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign,” Trump wrote, adding, “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. China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement. Actually, they can’t believe it is happening! President DJT.”
The president’s comments come after Axios obtained a memo in mid-August from the National Republican Senatorial Committee that warned Democrats are turning data centers into a central campaign issue in their effort to unseat Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH).
“If he loses and data centers get the blame, politicians across the country will take notice — and they will not go near the next one. This has become a sleeper issue for the entire election cycle,” the memo read.
Despite the political risk flagged by his own party, Trump appears undeterred by growing public backlash against the facilities, which critics have tied to environmental concerns and rising energy costs for surrounding communities.
This isn’t the first time Trump has waded into the data center debate. Back in July, the president criticized New York Governor Kathy Hochul after she placed a moratorium on new data centers, giving state lawmakers time to study their effect on local communities and energy prices.
“One of the biggest Driving Forces in the Future for Jobs, are Data Centers. They are big, strong, bold, and Money Machines for the State in which they are built. Governor Kathy Hochul, for political reasons, has terminated all Data Centers being built, or to be built, in New York State,” Trump wrote at the time.
He went on to argue that states like Alabama, Florida, Texas and Arizona stood to benefit as companies look elsewhere, writing that data centers bring in major tax revenue and job creation while covering their own water and power costs. Trump warned that New York’s decision would send valuable investment to other states and urged the governor to reverse course immediately, cautioning against losing ground to China and other countries on AI technology.
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