Trump Blasts Towns Rejecting Data Centers as 'Backwards'
Trump Blasts Towns Rejecting Data Centers as 'Backwards'
The News
President Trump on Monday told American communities fighting AI data centers that they "want to end up being backwards and poor," escalating a fight that is now splitting his own party heading into the midterms.
In a Truth Social post, Trump called the facilities a "Golden Goose," urged voters to "let Data Reign," and said "China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement," according to CNBC and the Financial Times.
The Wall Street Journal noted the remarks put Trump at odds with most Americans, who tell pollsters they do not want the facilities built near them.
Timeline
A Fox News poll finds 70% of voters oppose building data centers in their area.
$31 million in campaign advertising has mentioned data centers, and more than 8% of all broadcast TV campaign spending last month targeted data centers or AI. Roughly 99% of that spending ran against AI infrastructure projects.
Trump posts his defense of data centers on Truth Social.
Vice President JD Vance, pressed by a reporter on Trump's comments, offers a notably softer take on data centers, Mediaite reported.
Reactions
The backlash came fastest from the right. Raw Story reported conservatives revolted against the post, with one conservative radio host saying the president had gone "full techno-fascist." Gizmodo reported that even Trump supporters in his own Truth Social replies pushed back.
Right-leaning outlets framed it as a growth argument. The Washington Times summarized Trump's position as a warning that towns rejecting big data centers will fumble the "Golden Goose" and end up poor.
Republicans on the campaign trail are less comfortable. Mediaite reported data centers have become an increasingly toxic issue for GOP candidates, especially in swing states such as Ohio and Michigan.
What's Next
The Ohio Senate race between Sherrod Brown and Jon Husted is shaping up as the front-line test of how much electoral force the issue carries.
Cost is the pressure point. Goldman Sachs projects electricity bills will rise about 6% nationally over the next year, with steeper increases near data centers — numbers that land in voters' mailboxes before Election Day.
More
The underlying dispute is not really about whether AI gets built, but where and under what rules. Progressives are pushing local moratoriums as a litmus test; Trump and moderates argue targeted regulation, not bans, keeps the jobs and the competitive edge in the United States.
Victor Menaldo, a political science professor at the University of Washington, described it as a classic collective action problem: the benefits are spread thin and national, the costs — land, water, power bills, noise — land on one town.
That is why the opposition is one of the few things in 2026 drawing voters from both parties, and why incumbents in both are nervous.
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