Trump attacks data center opponents: They want to be “backward and poor”

Donald Trump has turned the fight over giant data centers into a political argument about whether US communities want economic growth or stagnation. “Backward and poor,” he wrote on Truth Social, describing communities that oppose the facilities.

Trump also brought China into the dispute, saying, “China could not be happier about this movement against data centers.” His comments came two months before gubernatorial elections in many states and the November 3 congressional elections, where Republicans will defend narrow majorities.

Resistance to large data centers has been growing in parts of the United States. Internet companies are building the facilities to support the expansion of artificial intelligence, but critics fear their environmental impact and heavy demand for electricity and water.

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Backward and poor

Trump is presenting the projects through their promised economic benefits. He said data centers would bring substantially lower taxes and numerous jobs to the regions where they are built. The question could become increasingly important in election campaigns, both in states choosing governors and in congressional races.

Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta are among the cloud and technology companies investing hundreds of billions of dollars in artificial intelligence data centers. Chipmaker Nvidia is also putting large sums into the expansion.

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China could not be happier about this movement against data centers.