President Donald Trump is urging communities to embrace the rapid expansion of data centers across the U.S., but growing public opposition is turning the infrastructure needed to power artificial intelligence into an increasingly contentious political issue.
Trump defended data centers in an interview with his former lawyer Michael Cohen that aired Sunday, arguing that the facilities bring jobs and investment while helping the U.S. maintain its lead over China in the AI field. "Communities that don't take a data center, they're making a mistake," Trump said, according to Axios. He also said data centers are increasingly building their own power plants rather than relying on the grid.
