(AFP) – US President Donald Trump on Monday attacked opponents of artificial intelligence data centers, saying they would end up “backwards and poor” and were helping rival China. A backlash against the energy-guzzling centers has become a surprise issue in November’s US midterm elections, with Trump at odds with many Republicans. Polls show a majority of Americans are now against building the centers, amid complaints about rising electricity bills and noise from the facilities.
“The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform. “If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign,” Trump said. “If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame.” Republicans are already at risk of losing control of Congress in the midterms as the Iran war drives up the cost of living, and the data centers are proving a fresh headache.
Opposition to the facilities is growing, according to opinion polls. A Fox News survey in July showed that 70 percent of respondents opposed the building of an AI data center in their area — including 60 percent of Republicans and 76 percent of Democrats. US candidates in at least 21 races across 18 states have aired television advertisements mentioning data centers this cycle, according to marketing data cited by US media, almost evenly divided between both parties.
But Trump has maintained his support, even as his administration earlier this year signed up top tech firms to a voluntary “Ratepayer Protection Pledge” to protect consumers from higher power prices.
– ‘China could not be happier’ –
US media reports have suggested that China may also be trying to stoke opposition to data centers, with a congressional committee demanding an investigation. Trump, who is due to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House in September, did not repeat the allegation but said Beijing would be pleased with the situation. “China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement. Actually, they can’t believe it is happening!” Trump said.
China is on course to nearly double its data center capacity within the next five years, as an AI race with the United States intensifies. Trump’s Vice President JD Vance — who is widely considered a possible 2028 presidential hopeful — took a more measured tone as he headed on a campaign visit to Michigan on Monday. “Probably 99 percent of the backlash to data centers has come in areas where building a data center means higher utility and higher electricity,” Vance told reporters. “If you build a data center, you should be putting power back into the grid, not taking it out. And if that is happening, I don’t think the data centers are that controversial.”
The White House noted in a statement about Vance’s visit that OpenAI, Oracle, and Related Digital were investing more than $7 billion in a “hyperscale data center campus” in Michigan. Vance is a former tech investor with close ties to Silicon Valley figures who would be expected to bankroll any presidential run after the midterms. But at the same time, the author of the bestselling “Hillbilly Elegy” has built his political brand on his blue-collar roots and on recognizing the economic concerns of US voters.
– Danny KEMP
© 2024 AFP
