Sep 1, 2026 – 5.13amWashington | United States President Donald Trump says communities that turn away data centres will become “backwards and poor”, in criticism at odds with a widespread and growing backlash against the artificial intelligence infrastructure build-out.Trump urged communities to “let Data Reign” in a post on Truth Social on Monday (Tuesday AEST), adding that the country’s greatest strategic rival, China, “could not be happier with this anti-Data Centre movement”.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles