Trump throws weight behind data centers as negative perception grows

President Donald Trump has attacked the growing backlash against AI data centers, warning in a Truth Social post that communities blocking the facilities risk becoming “backwards and poor.”

Trump called the data centers a “golden goose” and told Americans they will have themselves to blame if projects are canceled.

President Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday, “If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign,” the president wrote. 

He also claimed China welcomes the resistance, saying Beijing “could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement.”

The poll numbers Trump is pushing against

The posture of the president from his post shows that he is not in agreement with most of the country. This is because a Gallup survey conducted this spring found that 71% of Americans oppose building AI data centers near where they live. That figure has been well cited. In addition to that, more than six in ten Americans reportedly said they would strongly oppose such a proposal.

The opposition seems to also cross party lines, as both Republican and Democratic voters have grown skeptical about these facilities. The leading concerns are that the facilities consume large amounts of electricity and water, raising fears of grid strain, higher utility bills, and, for residents living nearby, the constant hum the buildings emit.

In Michigan, Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers recently backed a one-year pause on new projects. Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate candidate for Michigan has called for an indefinite pause until federal rules require union jobs and protect water supplies.

Vance splits from the hard line

Trump’s own vice president struck a softer note the same day. JD Vance told reporters that data centers are “an important part of the AI economy.” 

However, he conceded that most of the anger traces back to cost. Vance said, “I think probably 99% of the backlash to datacenters has come in areas where building a datacenter means higher utility and higher electricity for the people on the ground.”

His fix was pointed at the companies, as he said that developers should build power plants alongside their facilities and lean on federal deregulation.

“If you build a datacenter, you should be putting power back into the grid, not taking it out,” he said. “And if that is happening, I don’t think the datacenters are that controversial.”

A wave of moratoriums and blocked projects

The resistance is already affecting where these facilities get built; in some cases, it has paused ongoing projects. 

Research group Data Center Watch found that grassroots groups blocked or delayed at least 75 projects worth around $130 billion in the first three months of 2026. Communities that fought back and won include Monterey Park near Los Angeles, Prince William County in Virginia, and Wake County in North Carolina.

In Pennsylvania, the governor signed an executive order on August 18 requiring local approval for projects. In July, New York Governor Kathy Hochul enacted a moratorium. All approvals in Texas have been paused pending an audit after Governor Greg Abbott issued a moratorium to that effect in August.

The pressure has reached inside Trump’s party. A National Republican Senatorial Committee memo warned AI firms that data-center anger was negatively affecting Senator Jon Husted in Ohio. Residential electricity rates in the state have gone up by 175% since 2005, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data.

What the administration is doing to help builders

Trump signed an executive order last year fast-tracking federal permitting for AI data centers. 

The administration has pushed for expedited grid connections and faster approvals of chemicals used at the sites. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been planning to scrap a rule requiring public notice and a comment window for air permits.

So far, that plan has courted widespread criticism.

To ease the uproar, the administration has backed a voluntary Ratepayer Protection Pledge with several major AI companies signing on to offset local grid costs. 

Despite this, lawsuits continue to pile up on the facilities. Some of the lawsuits accuse firms, including SpaceXAI and Microsoft, of violating pollution-permitting laws, and a Microsoft-backed New Jersey site known as DataOne has been accused of running unpermitted gas-powered generators.

With the US midterm drawing closer, the fight is also making its way to the polls as AI-focused super PACs have ramped up their funding. They have reportedly raised $107 million and spent $55.5 million on federal races this cycle. 

Pro-industry Leading the Future network, backed by Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, has raised $140 million. On the other side, the pro-regulation Public First Action has raised $80 million, including $40 million from Anthropic. 

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