Trump criticizes opponents of AI data centers in the USA

It has long since become a political issue among the US population: Are you for or against the construction of giant data centers to further develop AI? Trump doesn't like the protest.

Trump criticizes opponents of giant data centers. (Archive image) Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP/dpa

Washington. Two months before the important gubernatorial elections in many US states and midterm elections in parliament, President Donald Trump is taking a front against opponents of giant data centers. Communities across the US are against data centers for one reason: if they want to be “backward and poor,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform.

He also added about competitor China in the geopolitical AI race: “China couldn’t be happier about this movement against data centers.”

Resistance to the buildings is growing in the USA

For some time now, there has been increasing criticism within the USA about the construction of huge data centers that Internet companies are building for the expansion of artificial intelligence. Resistance is growing in some states. Among other things, there are concerns about environmental impacts and high electricity and water consumption.

Trump is trying to counteract this with the argument of economic growth in the regions. In his post he wrote about significantly lower taxes and numerous jobs that data centers would bring.

The issue of data centers could also play an increasingly important role in the election campaign for the congressional elections on November 3rd. There, Trump's party - the Republicans - wants to defend their razor-thin majorities. And in many states, the next appointment to the highest political office - that is the post of governor - is being voted on.

Cloud heavyweights such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta in particular are currently investing hundreds of billions of dollars in the expansion of AI data centers, as is the chip company Nvidia.

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