Let data reign: Trump's data center gospel meets a growing American backlash

US President Donald Trump has backed one of the most contentious aspects of America's artificial intelligence boom, risking the support of parts of his own political base by warning that communities rejecting data centers would end up "backwards and poor," according to a Times of India report by its Washington correspondent, Chidanand Rajghatta.

What Trump said

In a post on Truth Social, Trump argued that embracing data centers would bring jobs, lower taxes and prosperity. "The only reason that communities throughout the USA should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor. If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign," Trump wrote, according to the report.


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He added, "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."

A booming industry facing growing resistance

Trump's intervention comes as the US races to build the physical infrastructure needed for AI to stay ahead of China, even as public opposition to that infrastructure grows into a significant political force. The US is currently building hundreds of data centers, with one estimate pointing to more than 3,000 operating facilities over the next decade, led by developers including Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Meta and Oracle, along with AI firms such as OpenAI and infrastructure specialists including QTS, Digital Realty, Equinix and CyrusOne, according to the report.

Opposition has grown sharply in recent months. At least 75 data center projects worth about $130 billion were blocked or delayed in the first quarter of 2026 alone, according to Data Center Watch, the TOI report said. A University of Pennsylvania Annenberg survey found in August that 61 per cent of Americans opposed new data centers in their communities, up from 49 per cent just four months earlier.

Where the opposition is strongest

Resistance has been strongest in Virginia, the country's traditional "Data Center Alley," with major protests in Prince William County over land use, power and environmental concerns. Wisconsin has seen opposition to Meta-linked plans become a statewide political issue, while Pennsylvania, Arizona, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas have also seen local campaigns.

The backlash has also crossed party lines. The UPenn survey found opposition at 69 per cent among Democrats, 53 per cent among independents and 54 per cent among Republicans, the report said.

The issue is also shaping US midterm election politics. The National Republican Senatorial Committee has warned that voter opposition to data centers in Ohio has left Republican Senator Jon Husted in a tight race against Democratic challenger Sherrod Brown for the Senate seat vacated by Vice President JD Vance, according to CNBC. Vance told reporters that electricity prices are at the core of the backlash.

Similar protests reported in India

Similar opposition is also emerging in India, with protests reported in Thane and Visakhapatnam, where Google has planned a $15 billion AI data centre hub in partnership with the Adani group, according to the TOI report.

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Complaints in both countries have been consistent: concerns over higher electricity bills, water consumption, noise, air pollution, diesel backup generators, loss of farmland, tax concessions, strain on transmission networks, and a lack of local control, the report said.

Trump at odds with parts of his base

Trump's stance has put him somewhat at odds with parts of his own political constituency, with many supporters expressing opposition to data centers on his own Truth Social platform, the TOI report said. "We're about to see whether President Trump can sway those voters to support them, as he's done on many issues before," pollster Frank Luntz was quoted as saying in the report.

(With inputs from TOI)