‘Pay dividend to community’: Donald Trump tells companies as backlash against data centers grows across US

US President Donald Trump has suggested that companies operating data centers should pay the community a dividend to make them popular. In a post on Truth Social, Trump also pointed out that, when a financial deal is struck, ‘data Centers that were highly unpopular in a certain area, have become extremely popular’.“If companies want to make their Data Centers popular, pay the community, and/or individuals within the community a “dividend,” he said.Trump’s comments come as massive data centers coming up across the US are facing stiff resistance from local communities, who fear that their key resources like water and electricity would be prioritised for the companies to build the AI infrastructure.Trump, in his social media post, also pointed out that large data centers have been mandated to make their own electricity and give or sell any excess back to the local community or grid.

Rapid expansion of data centers in US

Data centers fueling the rise of AI have become a political flashpoint in communities across the country, with opposition uniting voters across ideological lines.

According to a report by Pew Research Center, there are more than 3,000 operational data centers, and that number is expected to grow substantially in the years ahead. More than 1,500 new data centers are in various stages of development nationwide.

Most of the planned construction of U.S. data centers will happen in the South and Midwest. Three-quarters of all planned data centers will be built in these two regions, with the South alone accounting for nearly half of them (48%), it said.

In July, ​142 protests were held across 42 states on the same day, in what was described as the first nationwide effort to channel anger at the AI infrastructure expansion.

Most American don't want data centers in their community

A Reuters/Ipsos poll in June found that there was widespread public opposition to the rapid US data center expansion, with 64% of Americans disapproving of the fast construction pace and 57% opposing new data centers in their local communities.

It also found that only 33% of respondents approve of the current speed of AI data center construction, while just 14% felt comfortable with a data center being built in their neighborhood. Notably, a significant majority, 77% of surveyed individuals, said they worry that surging data center energy demands will drive up electricity costs.

The opposition by local communities have also stared showing results. According to Data Center Watch, $64 billion in US data center projects have been blocked or delayed by a growing wave of local, bipartisan opposition.