Trump Warns Towns Rejecting Data Centers Will End Up “Backwards and Poor”

President Donald Trump told American communities to stop fighting data center projects. Writing on Truth Social on Monday, he warned that towns that reject them will end up backwards and poor.

Republicans now face rising voter anger over data center construction before November’s midterm elections.

Trump Calls Data Centers a Golden Goose

Trump framed the buildout as a national economic prize. Towns accepting the facilities gain jobs and lower taxes, he argued. Rival locations are waiting to absorb rejected projects.

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Meanwhile, artificial intelligence (AI) projects now face opposition in both Republican-run and Democratic-run areas. Residents cite higher electricity bills, water use, and strain on local grids.

Officials have answered with permit pauses and outright bans. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro tightened the review rules for large projects.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott paused new grid connections pending an audit. New York imposed a statewide hyperscale data freeze in July.

A Heatmap Pro review found that more than 500 counties and municipalities were restricting or blocking new facilities by late July. Trump framed that resistance as a gift to Beijing.

“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!” he said.

Sanders Rejects Trump’s Framing as GOP Nerves Grow

Sen. Bernie Sanders responded on X. The Vermont independent said opponents are defending their communities, not choosing poverty.

“No, Mr. President, the 75% of Americans who oppose data centers in their communities do not want to be ‘backwards and poor.’ They want a decent future for themselves, their kids and their communities… They have every right to be concerned,” he said.

The president’s own party has grown nervous. A private memo from the National Republican Senatorial Committee, obtained by Axios, warned that the campaign against data centers would spread far beyond Ohio unless voter perceptions changed quickly.

Sen. Jon Husted faces Democrat Sherrod Brown there. Brown has made opposition to data centers a central campaign theme.

“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 reads.

Whether Trump’s jobs-and-taxes pitch lands will show if the White House can slow a movement that has already crossed party lines.

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