Trump says communities that don’t build data centers will be ‘backwards and poor’

Published August 31, 2026 10:39am ET | Updated August 31, 2026 10:39am ET



President Donald Trump criticized the rising wave of anti-data center sentiment, clashing with his administration’s aggressive efforts to build out the domestic artificial intelligence sector.

Trump has placed a concerted focus on making the U.S. the global leader in AI, but voters have steadily voiced concerns about building the data centers needed to power the technology over concerns that they will raise utility prices in the areas where they are constructed.

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