President Donald Trump defended the U.S. data-center boom, saying communities that reject the projects are "making a mistake" because artificial-intelligence infrastructure can deliver jobs, investment and tax revenue.
Trump Says Data Centers Bring Jobs
"Communities that don’t take a data center, they’re making a mistake," Trump told former fixer Michael Cohen in a second part of the interview that aired in full on Sunday. He said the facilities create "tremendous amounts of jobs and money" and argued the United States leads China in AI "by a lot."
Trump also said data centers are not draining local grids because "they’re making their own power plants," although many facilities remain dependent on regional grids.
The comments build on Trump’s recent effort to improve the industry’s image. He said last week that data centers need "a little public relations help" as communities push back over power prices and infrastructure costs. The Associated Press reported on Friday that the backlash has increasingly entered midterm campaigns in both Republican- and Democratic-led states.
