Everyone hates data centers

On Truth Social, President Trump recently lashed out at a surprising target: Americans themselves. "The only reason that communities throughout the USA 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, far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let data reign." But Trump appears out of step with a growing bipartisan backlash. Across the country, voters and the politicians they elect are turning against the massive facilities that power the internet and artificial intelligence.

The Texas turnaround

Nowhere is this shift more visible than in Texas, the nation's top market for data centers. Paul Cobler, the Texas Tribune's economy reporter, describes how Governor Greg Abbott was once among the industry's most enthusiastic boosters. Abbott declared Texas "the epicenter of the data center more so than any other country in the entire world" and predicted the state would be "the centerpiece for AI data centers for Google in the entire world." The governor framed the buildout in terms of jobs, economic development, and national security—a race against China.