Donald Trump Slams US Areas Rejecting Data Centers: 'Backwards and Poor'
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0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. President Donald Trump has blasted local opposition to data center projects, arguing that communities turning them away are sacrificing economic growth and jobs .
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said areas that reject data centers risk becoming "backwards and poor," while those that embrace them stand to benefit from investment, employment opportunities and lower taxes . He described data centers as a key driver of future prosperity and warned against what he called the "anti Data Center movement."
Trump also framed the issue as a strategic competition with China , saying Beijing would welcome efforts to slow U.S. data infrastructure development.
The president posted, in full, "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. 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."
Newsweek has reached out to the Department of Energy via email on Monday morning for comment.
Trump's comments come even as recent polling suggests skepticism about data centers extends to many of his own supporters. An Economist /YouGov poll conducted August 21-24 found that 47 percent of 2024 Trump voters opposed having a new data center built in their community, compared with 35 percent who supported such a project.
Data centers have become a growing source of concern in communities across the country . Facilities supporting cloud computing and artificial intelligence require vast amounts of electricity and, in many cases, significant quantities of water for cooling.
Critics have raised concerns about noise, pressure on power grids, rising utility bills and the environmental impact of meeting the industry's growing energy demands. Yet tech giants including Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and Google continue racing to build massive facilities to support AI development and cloud services.
Public skepticism has intensified as that buildout accelerates. A Gallup survey conducted in March found that seven in 10 Americans oppose building data centers in their communities, while separate Politico polling found 41 percent would oppose a facility within three miles of their home, up from 28 percent in January.
Opposition has emerged across the political spectrum and is increasingly being reflected in public policy. New York enacted the nation's first statewide data center moratorium in July, while lawmakers in more than a dozen other states have considered similar restrictions.
Related Story AI Data Center War: Where Democrats, Republicans in Key Senate Races Stand The resistance has also translated into project delays. According to The Information, more than 500 localities have stalled data center development, while Data Center Watch found that more than 75 projects worth roughly $130 billion were halted in the first three months of 2026 alone, nearly matching the number blocked during all of 2025.
Concerns about electricity costs appear to be a major driver of the backlash. The Economist /YouGov poll conducted in August found that 62 percent of Americans believe a new data center in their community would increase their electricity costs, compared with 13 percent who said it would have no effect and just 3 percent who said it would lower costs.
Even among Trump's 2024 voters, a majority, 52 percent, said a local data center would likely drive up power bills, underscoring the challenge facing advocates who argue the facilities bring economic and strategic benefits.
Vice President JD Vance acknowledged that opposition to data centers is often driven less by concerns about artificial intelligence than by worries over rising household electricity costs. Speaking to reporters Monday, Vance argued that "99 percent of the backlash" to data centers stems from situations where projects lead to higher utility bills for local residents. He said companies should take advantage of federal deregulatory efforts to pair new data centers with additional power generation, arguing that facilities should be "putting power back into the grid, not taking it out."
Ohio Senator John Husted, who is on the ballot this November in a closely watched special Senate election against former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, struck a more nuanced tone than Trump, framing the debate as a local decision rather than a national mandate. The Republican senator argued that communities should weigh the economic benefits of data centers against local concerns, noting that some Ohio communities that embraced the projects have seen significant new tax revenue and lower property taxes. "If you want the jobs, if you want the tax revenue, then it's a good deal for the community," he said.
Husted was appointed to the Senate in 2025 to fill the seat vacated by Vance and is now seeking voter approval to serve out the remainder of the term in a race widely viewed as one of the country's most competitive Senate contests.
At the same time, Husted acknowledged concerns about energy costs that have fueled opposition to data centers nationwide. He said the federal government's role should be ensuring that data centers have adequate power generation and are not shifting costs onto residents.
"The data centers are producing their own energy for these facilities so that the burden's not passed on to the citizens," Husted said, adding that local officials, not Washington, should ultimately decide whether to approve projects.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott , also up for re-election in November, said AI…
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