AOC Dares Trump: Data Center at Mar-a-Lago

The pushback is not only coming from the left. Republican Rep. Tim Burchett, usually a Trump ally, told MeidasTouch: "I guess I'm backwards and poor." He added that the administration has "done a poor job of educating the public on those things."

The White House is not backing off. "President Trump's bold leadership is turning data centers into engines of growth and opportunity for communities across the country that want them, all while cementing America's dominance over China in the global AI race," White House spokesman Davis Ingle told The Independent. Ingle said that by requiring data centers to pay for their own power, water and utilities, Trump "has ensured the American people never foot the bill for private companies' profits."

The Washington Examiner reports that Ocasio-Cortez and other socialists have increasingly cast the data center buildout as a fight between the rich and the poor — a framing shared by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, who argue corporations are ripping off locals and fueling an oligarchic society.

On the right, The Daily Caller called Trump's line a White House messaging mishap that the left is gleefully seizing on.