An industry backed by President Donald Trump is worried that his support can’t save it from a growing revolt, per Politico.
According to reporting by Politico, Trump’s vocal support for building AI data centers hasn’t “stanched the bleeding” faced by companies that build and run them. They haven’t even seen his backing make a difference in red states.
“I don’t think the problem is the way that we engage with communities,” Kirk Offel, CEO of OVERWATCH Mission Critical, which operates data centers, told Politico. “I think we just haven’t.”
Trump has told states they “can’t fight” the spread of data centers, but Politico described the rising revolt, even in red states. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) has called for moratoriums on new data centers. A push for moratoriums has halted a project for new data centers in Ohio, and nondisclosure agreements between local officials and data center companies led to backlash in Indiana, according to Politico.
“We were completely blindsided,” said Roshan Shah, the CEO of Decimal Digital, which had to pause a project in Ohio because of a one-year ban on data center construction. Shah told Politico about the fallout of a New York Times report that uncovered a deal where Louisiana officials offered Meta a secret tax and public land use to build a data center.
“That sets all of us back,” Shah said. “It adds fuel to the fire and adds to the local distrust that we’re already facing.”
Polling by Politico has found that majorities of Americans side with key arguments from the data center industry’s opponents, including that the facilities make electricity more expensive.
According to Politico, the “political firestorm” facing data centers is so hot that executives are scared of getting burned.
“The rhetoric has gotten so aggressive,” Ilissa Miller, who advises data center companies on messaging, told Politico. “Executives and companies who don’t want to get caught up in that are not comfortable speaking with the media and not comfortable engaging.”
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