‘Let Data Reign’: Trump decries opposition to data centres in US

By Al Jazeera Staff. Published On 31 Aug 202631 Aug 2026.

Key points

• A Gallup poll conducted in March suggested that 71 percent of Americans oppose establishing AI data centres in their areas.
• After Trump's post, Vice President JD Vance on Monday appeared to acknowledge some of the reservations around data centres.
• Despite bipartisan pushback against data centres in the United States, President Donald Trump has pressed communities nationwide to embrace the tech facilities, promising that they would bring jobs.
• El-Sayed has dismissed Rogers's proposal and pushed to link the former Republican congressman to Trump's all-out backing for data centres.
• "If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign."

Trump remarked on Monday that China is happy with what he called the "anti-Data Center movement", suggesting that growing disapproval of the centres in the US would divert businesses to the world's second largest economy.

"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 wrote in a social media post.

As more data centres open nationwide, in part to power the growing employ of artificial intelligence, the facilities have been met with scepticism – by both Republican and Democratic voters.

Data centres consume an enormous amount of electricity, raising reservations concerning the effect on the power grid, including feasible outages and climbed utility bills.

Notably, the Trump administration has backed a voluntary pledge by tech firms to entirely cover the rate of their energy consumption. But consumer protection advocates have been calling for strict federal regulations around data centres.

Beyond electricity, environmental activists are ringing the alarm over the enormous amounts of water needed to cool down servers at data centres at a time when parts of the country are experiencing droughts.

Some residents living near data centres have additionally complained of the constant hum they emit.

Meanwhile, a Gallup poll conducted in March suggested that 71 percent of Americans oppose establishing AI data centres in their areas.

Meanwhile, the matter has gained steam throughout the political spectrum to the point where some pro-business Republicans are starting to express reservations regarding data centres.

For example, Republican US Senate candidate Mike Rogers – whose Democratic opponent in Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed, is a vocal critic of data centres – lately backed a one-year pause on data centres in the state.

Notably, the Democratic candidate has pressed an indefinite pause on data centres until federal regulations are in place to require the creation of union jobs, ensure that utility bills do not rise, provide investments in the power grid and protect water resources.

After Trump's post, Vice President JD Vance on Monday appeared to acknowledge some of the reservations around data centres. He remarked that while they are an "important part of the AI economy", tech firms should establish power stations to backing the facilities.

"If you build a data centre, you should be putting power back into the grid, not taking it out, " Vance remarked. "If that is happening, I don't think data centres are that controversial."

Taken together, the developments around 'Let Data Reign': Trump decries opposition to data centres in US point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.