Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had a cheeky response on Monday when asked about President Trump’s recent comments that opponents of data centers want to be “backwards and poor.” “I mean, how about we put one in Mar-a-Lago?” she told MeidasTouch. Let’s put a data center up in Mar-a-Lago, and we’ll see how backwards and poor he is in response to that.” Earlier that day, the president spoke out on Truth Social about the increasingly vocal opposition to data centers ahead of the midterms. China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement.
Actually, they can’t believe it is happening!” AOC isn’t the only one in Washington who has disagreed with the president. Tim Burchett, typically a close ally of the president, told MeidasTouch. While the Trump 2024 campaign counted support from many within Silicon Valley and the AI industry, voters have been more ambivalent about data centers than the administration.
Most Americans oppose building new data centers in their communities, a late August Economist / YouGov poll found, with just 24 percent of respondents agreeing new data centers were very or somewhat good for the country. The White House has pushed to expedite permitting and limit environmental regulations that would slow the data center buildout, arguing AI infrastructure is a key source of jobs and U.S. competitiveness in the tech race against China. President Trump will continue leveraging the data center boom to deliver real benefits for working families and small businesses.” However, in states and jurisdictions across the country, data centers have become increasingly fraught politically.
This summer, even reliably red and pro-business Texas issued an executive order pausing data center construction. The pushback to data centers comes amid broader concerns about the impact of AI on jobs, culture and the environment, issues that are all likely to inform the vote in November. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
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