Trump Warns "Opposing Data Centers Means Becoming Poor"... US AI Industry Launches $50 Million Public Campaign

Public Backlash Against Data Centers Grows Ahead of Midterms
Republican Candidate Calls for Moratorium
AI Industry Launches 50 Million Dollar Public Campaign

U.S. President Donald Trump issued a public criticism of communities opposing the construction of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, questioning whether they “want to fall behind and become poor.” With opposition to data centers growing—driven by concerns over rising electricity rates and environmental impacts—as November’s midterm elections approach, the AI industry has launched a sweeping public campaign, investing tens of millions of dollars.

On August 31 (local time), President Trump stated via Truth Social, “The only reason any community nationwide wouldn’t want data centers is that they ultimately want to fall behind and become poor.”

He added, “If you want to be successful, become wealthy, have taxes fall substantially and jobs overflow, you must let data reign,” urging for the expansion of data center construction.

President Trump also stressed that building data centers is directly linked to America’s AI competitiveness. He warned, “If we kill the goose that lays the golden eggs, we’ll have only ourselves to blame,” cautioning that delaying the expansion of data centers may give China the lead in the AI race.

Data Centers Become a Midterm Election Flashpoint

President Trump’s strong advocacy for expanding data centers comes at a time when opposition to such facilities is spreading nationwide, turning the issue into a major topic for the midterm elections.

According to the Financial Times, dozens of data center projects worth a total of approximately 150 billion dollars have been suspended or canceled across the United States due to community opposition. Key reasons cited include surging power and water usage, higher electricity bills, noise and environmental pollution, and encroachment on farmland.

A Pew Research Center survey conducted from June 22 to 28 of this year among 3,488 U.S. adults showed 52% of respondents said their concerns about increased AI usage in daily life outweighed their expectations—an increase of 15 percentage points from 37% in 2021. Additionally, 71% believed that, over the next 20 years, AI would decrease the number of jobs in the U.S.

Notably, the movement against data centers has spread not only among Democrats but also in Republican-leaning regions. Mike Rogers, a U.S. Senate candidate from Michigan backed by President Trump, has called for a one-year statewide moratorium on new data center construction.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, previously promoted attracting data centers but has recently all but halted new project approvals. Governor Abbott criticized data center companies for failing to sufficiently consult with communities, saying, “They dug their own grave and brought the backlash upon themselves.” Texas has strengthened its regulations so that only after a review of the impact on the power grid will new data center projects be allowed to proceed.

Vice President JD Vance, while traveling to Michigan, told reporters that “perhaps 99%” of the backlash against data centers stems from higher local energy prices. He added that if companies solve this issue, “I don’t actually think data centers themselves would be so controversial.”

AI Industry Launches 50 Million Dollar Super PAC Campaign

With political scrutiny of data centers intensifying ahead of the midterms, the AI industry has also begun a full-fledged public campaign. Concerns are mounting that delays in data center construction could hinder the expansion of the AI infrastructure in the United States.

According to Axios, the AI advocacy organization ‘Build American AI’ has secured a 50 million dollar budget and plans to launch pro-data center construction campaigns starting in Kansas, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

This group is affiliated with the pro-AI Super PAC ‘Leading the Future.’ Through advertising, grassroots efforts, research, and media outreach, they aim to highlight the economic impact of data centers and the importance of strengthening America’s AI competitiveness.

Leading the Future has drawn funding from major Silicon Valley figures. The Financial Times reports contributions from venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, as well as OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman, among others, raising over 75 million dollars to date.

Build American AI has also established a separate Super PAC, ‘Building the Future,’ to support state and federal election candidates who favor expanding data centers and AI infrastructure.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.