Trump says data centers are a 'golden goose' and communities will end up 'poor' without them
During a Cabinet meeting in August 2025, President Donald Trump held up an image of Meta's Hyperion Data Center superimposed over Manhattan to showcase its size.
Bloomberg/Getty Images President Donald Trump questioned those who oppose data centers.
Trump compared the facilities to a "Golden Goose." How has your community reacted to data centers? President Donald Trump had a stern message for data center opponents.
In a Monday post on Truth Social, Trump portrayed the backlash as a boon to China, a frequent point he makes when discussing what he views as too onerous regulations on AI.
"The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor," he wrote.
"If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign." He added, "If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame.
China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement." Trump has repeatedly made clear that he sees himself as one of the AI industry's biggest supporters, but his comments come as some of his political allies have soured on data centers amid a growing public backlash.
Most notably, Texas Gov.
Greg Abbott, whom Trump has repeatedly praised, moved to impose an effective moratorium on new large-scale data center approvals until Texas agencies can conduct a full review.
In July, Nebraska Gov.
Jim Pillen, a fellow Republican who is generally supportive of the White House, signed an executive order reining in data center tax incentives and formalized a pause on new data center construction.
Polling shows that data centers, which are critical to the training and running of AI models, have become a pariah.
A widely cited Gallup survey in May found that seven in 10 Americans oppose local data center construction.
A more recent Fox News survey published last month found roughly the same margin of opposition among registered voters.
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