Trump Says Communities Rejecting Data Centres Will Be 'Backwards and Poor' as Water and Power Concerns Grow

President Donald Trump has warned that American communities refusing to host data centres will end up 'backwards and poor', insisting on Truth Social that blocking the facilities will hand an advantage to China. He claimed that embracing the infrastructure would deliver lower taxes, economic gains and jobs to local areas.

This defence of the tech industry comes amid a sharp rise in bipartisan opposition to the physical footprint of artificial intelligence. Local resistance has grown across key swing states as residents voice concerns over the huge water and electricity demands required to cool massive server farms.

Growing Resistance to Data Centres Across the Political Divide

Recent figures highlight a disconnect between political endorsements and public sentiment. A nationally representative survey conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania revealed that 61 per cent of US adults now oppose the construction of new data centres in their area.

This marks a 12-point rise in opposition since March. The resistance crosses traditional partisan boundaries, with 69 per cent of Democrats and 54 per cent of Republicans voicing disapproval of the developments.

Even heavy AI users remained broadly opposed to having a data centre built in their area, with opposition at about 60 per cent.

'The people who use AI the most are the most optimistic about what it will do for the country,' noted Matt Levendusky, a political science professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

'That optimism, however, has clear limits, and it disappears when we ask about privacy, about jobs, and about whether a data centre should go up nearby.'

Environmental Costs and the Push for Data Centres

The physical reality of AI technology is highly resource-intensive. A single medium-sized facility can consume up to 110 million gallons of water annually for cooling purposes.

That volume equals the annual water usage of roughly 1,000 households, according to data from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute.

Major technology companies including Meta, Amazon and Google signed President Trump's Ratepayer Protection Pledge in March, committing to cover the costs of new power generation and infrastructure associated with their data centres rather than passing those costs on to ratepayers.

Trump pushed back against local environmental concerns, framing them as a threat to national dominance.

'If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame,' Trump wrote. He suggested that foreign adversaries are capitalising on American hesitation, adding that China could not be happier with the resistance and cannot believe it is happening.

Public Unease Over AI Outpaces Support for Data Centres

While Americans remain sceptical of the infrastructure, their broader views on the technology itself are relatively stable. About 39 per cent of the public expects the impact of artificial intelligence over the next decade to be negative, a figure statistically unchanged from the spring.

A majority of 68 per cent continue to feel the federal government has done too little to regulate the sector.

The public anticipates benefits in areas such as medical research but remains concerned about personal privacy, data security and employment. Trump, however, emphasised the economic benefits of the physical infrastructure.

He told reporters earlier this month that if he were a mayor or governor, he would demand the facilities because they bring 'tremendous income'.

Whether local voters agree with that economic calculation remains to be seen. The polling suggests a community might value the convenience of a digital assistant, but a clear majority remain reluctant to host its physical infrastructure in their own backyards.