China ‘could not be happier’: Trump blasts US backlash against data centres
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An Amazon Web Services data centre adjacent to people’s homes in Stone Ridge, Virginia.
PHOTO: AFP
- President Trump criticised US opposition to data centres, warning it harms economic success and job growth.
- Data centres have become a key issue in the US midterm elections, with concerns about energy use and noise.
- Trump suggested China supports US backlash, as it plans to nearly double its data centre capacity soon.
AI generated
WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump on Aug 31 attacked opponents of artificial intelligence data centres, saying they would end up “backwards and poor” and were helping rival China.
A backlash against the energy-guzzling data centres has become a surprise issue in November’s crucial midterm elections, with Trump at odds with many Republicans.
Polls show a majority of Americans are now against building the centres, amid complaints about rising electricity bills and noise from the facilities.
“The only reason that communities throughout the USA should not want data centres 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,” he said, adding that “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 centres are proving a fresh headache.
Opposition to the facilities is growing, according to opinion polls.
A Fox News survey in July showed that 70 per cent of respondents opposed the building of an AI data centre in their area – including 60 per cent of Republicans and 76 per cent of Democrats.
US candidates in at least 21 races across 18 states have aired television advertisements mentioning data centres this cycle, according to marketing data cited by US media, with the ads almost evenly divided between the two parties.
But Trump has maintained his support, even as his administration earlier in 2026 signed 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 centres, 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 centre movement. Actually, they can’t believe it is happening!” Trump said.
China is on course to nearly double its data centre capacity within the next five years, as the AI race with the US intensifies.
Trump’s Vice-President J.D. Vance – who is widely considered a possible 2028 presidential hopeful – took a more measured tone as he headed to Michigan for a campaign visit on Aug 31.
“Probably 99 per cent of the backlash to data centres has come in areas where building a data centre means higher utility and higher electricity,” Vance told reporters.
“If you build a data centre, you should be putting power back into the grid, not taking it out. And if that is happening, I don’t think the data centres are that controversial.”
The White House noted in a statement about Vance’s visit that OpenAI, Oracle and Related Digital were investing more than US$7 billion (S$8.9 billion) in a “hyperscale data centre 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 best-selling Hillbilly Elegy has built his political brand on his blue-collar roots and on recognising the economic concerns of US voters. AFP
