The president urged data center companies to pay a “dividend” to communities as he panics ahead of the midterm elections.
President Donald Trump launched into a rant aimed at limiting damage to data centers at 1:37 a.m.
The 80-year-old landed at the White House on Marine One at 11 p.m. Tuesday after a rally in North Carolina. Nearly three hours later, his latest Truth Social tantrum was posted online.
This time the topic was data centers, the vast, power-hungry facilities that house the computer systems, servers and networking equipment used by artificial intelligence giants and other big tech companies.
In his error-ridden message, Trump said he was “watching data centers very closely” and had “come to a very strong conclusion.”
Social truth / Donald Trump
“The new, big data companies, in some cases gigantic, are mandated by me to generate their own electricity and donate or resell any excess to the local community, or to the grid, and so there is an increase in the price of electricity,” he continued, misspelling “data centers” and apparently omitting “no” in front of “increase in prices.”
In an effort to curry favor with voters before the midterm elections in two weeks, he has launched a financial incentive for residents near these highly unpopular facilities.
He continues: “In fact, there could be a substantial decrease. Other things as well! If companies want to make their data centers popular, pay the community and/or individuals within the community a “dividend”. I have observed the process closely, and data centers that were very unpopular in a certain area have become extremely popular when a financial deal is reached. DO DEAL and get them built!!! GREAT FOR THE USA”
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Data centers have been a highly contentious issue under Trump 2.0, as major companies seek to build them across the country while the president allays community concerns.
A drone view shows xAi’s gas turbines in Southaven, Mississippi, in May.
A new Associated Press-NORC poll indicates that about six in 10 Americans favor placing limits on the development of new data centers, a sentiment shared by a majority of both major political parties.
The main concerns center around increasing demand for electricity and depleting water supplies, especially as technology developers look to smaller towns.
Although 87% of active data centers in the United States are in urban areas, Pew Research Center data shows that most newly planned facilities are aimed at rural communities.
The energy footprint is enormous. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates that data centers could consume up to 11.8% of all U.S. electricity by 2030.
In 2026 alone, local resistance has blocked at least 47 megaprojects, with more than 1,000 communities proposing moratoriums, zoning caps or strict environmental rules on incoming AI infrastructure, according to Investing Live.
Trump said in February that big tech companies should be forced to build their own dedicated power plants at their facilities.
At the same time, the main players in AI are trying to soften their image with the public. Anthropic pledged 5% of its shares in a new “public good” fund, while Elon Musk promised Monday to give a share of SpaceX to “every child in America” to counter growing skepticism.
Trump doubled down on his support for the sector Monday, touting data centers as an economic lifeline and national security imperative ahead of the midterm elections.
“The only reason communities across the United States should not want data centers is if they want to end up backward and poor. If they want to be successful and rich, with much lower taxes and jobs everywhere, let data rule,” Trump said on social media, warning that blocking development was playing into Beijing’s hands. “If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame. China couldn’t be happier with this anti-Data Center movement.”
Trump’s pro-industry stance puts him at odds with some in his own party. After Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott temporarily paused new data center projects to review regulatory compliance, Trump publicly criticized the move in an interview with Punchbowl, calling it a “mistake” and saying that data centers are “extremely important to the economy” and could ultimately become “bigger than oil.”
However, for local residents living near the proposed sites, the national economic ambition seems disconnected from local reality. “I think decisions are made for the company, not for the community they’re built in,” said Nancy Antunes, a 60-year-old Massachusetts resident.
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