Trump Urges Cities to Welcome AI Data Centers as State Backlash Builds

President Donald Trump is asking governors and mayors to treat AI data centers as an economic prize, arguing that the projects would bring jobs and local tax revenue. His pitch comes amid public concerns about electricity, water and environmental impact, as well as criticism that AI companies have not worked closely enough with state and local governments.

At a White House meeting with technology and cryptocurrency executives, Trump said he would welcome an AI plant or data center in his own community if he were a mayor or governor. He pointed to the scale of construction work and tax payments, and warned that places turning projects down could be left behind as other locations compete to host them.

Trump’s case: jobs, taxes and power

Trump also claimed that the United States was leading China in AI by a wide margin. Separately, he said he was allowing AI companies to build their own power plants and claimed their data centers were not taking electricity from the existing grid, which he described as old and tired.

Trump said the industry needs public-relations help. He also argued that AI could create jobs and medical innovation, presenting those outcomes as further reasons for communities to support new facilities.

“But if I were a governor or mayor, I would want that plant in my community.”

President Donald Trump, at a White House meeting with technology and cryptocurrency executives

The local costs are driving resistance

The political resistance is not confined to one party. A May Gallup poll cited in coverage found that most Americans opposed data centers in their communities. Respondents’ concerns centered on environmental effects and the large electricity and water requirements needed to run the facilities.

Texas Governor Gregg Abbott, a Republican, gave the criticism a sharper local-government focus. Abbott said AI companies had failed to coordinate with state and municipal authorities and had brought the backlash on themselves. Coverage also described opposition from Democratic governors, making data-center development a cross-party point of friction.

The promised payoff does not settle the terms

Trump’s comments put a clear economic argument before local officials: accept a large industrial project for construction work and tax revenue, or let another community take it. Abbott’s criticism and the public concerns identify the competing questions: how projects affect local resources and whether companies coordinate with the governments asked to host them.