{"slug": "trump-opposed-to-data-centers-hope-you-like-being-backwards-and-poor", "title": "Trump: Opposed to Data Centers? Hope You Like Being 'Backwards and Poor'", "summary": "President Donald Trump on Monday warned U.S. communities against opposing AI data centers, saying on Truth Social that the only reason to reject them is to 'end up being backwards and poor,' and that AI is the 'Golden Goose' driving stock market growth. He also claimed China is happy about the anti-data-center movement, which he said could undermine U.S. national security. The pushback comes as a poll found 75% of Americans oppose having an AI data center built near them, and as opposition becomes a factor in the 2026 midterm elections.", "body_md": "As resistance to AI data centers grows across the US, President Trump is hitting back, warning communities that they're regret protesting them.\n\n“The only reason that communities throughout the USA should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor,” Trump [posted](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117190477440173795) 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.”\n\nHe described AI as the “Golden Goose” since investment in the technology has been [driving](https://www.wsj.com/economy/global/how-the-ai-investment-craze-is-keeping-the-global-economy-afloat-0d62c000) US stock market growth. In addition, Trump implied that the data center backlash could undermine US national security by derailing the country’s progress on artificial intelligence as China races to develop its own cutting-edge AI models.\n\n“China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement. Actually, they can’t believe it is happening!” Trump wrote.\n\nSurprisingly, the president’s post is facing some pushback from users on Truth Social, a Twitter-like site that has always been pro-Trump. “Mr. President: Think about farm land and about water resources, and a man as intelligent as you will see that the absolute position you are taking is flawed,” wrote one user in response.\n\n“I have to disagree with this one. AI is evil. The world will regret it in the long run,” wrote a separate user named “Ultra MAGA Prayer Warrior.”\n\nThe major AI providers have been trying to address the backlash by pledging to [cover the necessary electricity costs](/ai/115326/microsoft-well-foot-the-bill-for-electricity-price-hikes-caused-by-ai-data-centers). Data centers can also generate new tax revenue for the towns where they're built. Even so, a poll published earlier this month [found](/ai/119457/americans-hate-ai-data-centers-even-more-fiercely-than-they-did-just-a-few-months-ago-new-poll-shows) that 75% of Americans oppose having an AI data center being built near them.\n\n“Data centers are 43 points underwater with Republicans, 65 points underwater with independents, and 75 points underwater with Democrats,” according to the energy-and-environment news site Heatmap News, which published the poll.\n\nThe data center backlash has been simmering amid concerns that large facilities will [strain](/ai/114875/senators-question-whether-data-centers-are-causing-your-sky-high-electricity-bills) the electric grid, drain water supplies, and eventually lead to massive job losses. In other cases, the facilities have generated excessive noise and air pollution from gas turbine use, prompting [lawsuits](/ai/118209/mississippi-residents-sue-xai-over-near-constant-noise-from-data-centers) in some communities.\n\nOpposition to AI data centers has been so strong that the [issue](https://www.axios.com/2026/08/20/data-center-uproar-2026-midterms) is becoming a major factor in the midterm elections. At least a few Republicans have [accused](/ai/118075/gop-lawmakers-accuse-china-of-bankrolling-us-data-center-protests) China of secretly bankrolling AI data center opposition in the US, despite concerns from affected communities. Last week, X also [uncovered](https://x.com/globalaffairs/status/2093130747796148634?s=46&t=RT4xQX7R03qtkfM5Pw0Nzg) 200 suspected Chinese-controlled accounts attempting to fuel anti-AI data center sentiment.\n\nTwo days into his second term, Trump welcomed Oracle’s Larry Ellison, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to the White House to [announce Stargate](/ai/109392/openai-softbank-building-ai-data-centers-in-500b-stargate-deal), a joint venture that planned to invest $500 billion over the next four years to develop AI data centers and generate electricity for AI across the US. It's had a bit of a [rocky rollout](https://time.com/article/2026/06/24/ai-data-center-stargate-abilene-texas-injuries/), however.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/trump-opposed-to-data-centers-hope-you-like-being-backwards-and-poor", "canonical_source": "https://au.pcmag.com/ai/119605/trump-opposed-to-data-centers-hope-you-like-being-backwards-and-poor", "published_at": "2026-08-31 21:03:33+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-31 21:23:13.502353+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy", "ai-infrastructure"], "entities": ["Donald Trump", "Truth Social", "China", "Oracle", "Larry Ellison", "SoftBank", "Masayoshi Son", "OpenAI"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/trump-opposed-to-data-centers-hope-you-like-being-backwards-and-poor", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/trump-opposed-to-data-centers-hope-you-like-being-backwards-and-poor.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/trump-opposed-to-data-centers-hope-you-like-being-backwards-and-poor.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/trump-opposed-to-data-centers-hope-you-like-being-backwards-and-poor.jsonld"}}