President Donald Trump has a message for Americans who scorn data centers: you’re making a foolish mistake.
In a bizarre interview with his former personal attorney Michael Cohen, flagged by Forbes, the president went out of his way to defend the AI industry’s data center frenzy, in opposition to the vast majority of American voters.
“Frankly, communities that don’t take a data center are making a mistake,” Trump hectored. There are “plenty of communities” that want them, he continued, calling those that embrace the facilities the “smart ones.”
His pitch isn’t exactly the most inspiring, falling back on tired — not to mention false — notions that AI will create new jobs and bring “tremendous tax revenue” to towns reeling from decades of poverty and neglect.
Despite widespread backlash data center developers face from every side of the political aisle, Trump has doubled down on his support for the AI industry’s efforts to erect them in recent months.
Though his presidency is secure for another two years, Trump’s Republican party faces a potential political reconning during the US midterms in November. Last week, party strategists in Ohio issued an anxious memo begging the tech industry to solve its public relations crisis around data centers, for fear that opposing Democrats will win big playing on the public’s sentiments.
Whether the president’s pro-data center antics hurt his own party in November remains to be seen — but it’s clear he hasn’t gotten the message.
More on data centers: Texas Governor Suddenly Turns on Data Centers as Backlash Grows