Community backlash to massive data centers being built in communities across Tennessee has been steadily increasing. The issue has become a major campaign issue as the midterm elections heat up.
Although there aren't yet massive AI data centers in East Tennessee, voters are preemptively pushing back.
As midterms draw near, East Tennesseans are likely curious about where congressional candidates stand on data centers. Incumbent U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, whose district encompasses counties Blount, Claiborne, Grainger, Knox, Loudon and Union counties, as well as parts of Campbell and Jefferson counties, recently spoke out against the developments.
So where do Burchett and his Democratic opponent, Michaela Barnett, stand on the complex issue?
'I guess I'm backwards and poor,' Burchett said on his opposition to data centers
Burchett
has been an ally of President Donald Trump and is intertwined in the MAGA movement, but the congressman recently spoke out against Trump's take on data centers.
@nowthisimpact Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) told MeidasTouch’s Pablo Manríquez that if Trump says opposing data centers makes you “backwards and poor,” then Trump is “backwards and poor.”
♬ original sound - NowThis Impact - NowThis Impact
"The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want data centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor," Trump said in an Aug. 31 Truth Social post. "If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let data reign."
During an interaction on Capitol Hill, Burchett was then asked what he thought of Trump saying people who don't support data centers are "backwards and poor."
"I guess I'm backwards and poor," Burchett told a reporter.
Burchett does not list data centers on his campaign website as one of the issues he plans to tackle if reelected.
Candidate Michaela Barnett on data centers
Running against Burchett is Democratic candidate Michaela Barnett. On Barnett's campaign website, she says if she is elected to Congress, she will work to protect city and state rights to regulate AI data centers.
Part of Barnett's plan is to strictly regulate data centers in order to protect resources in East Tennessee including electricity, the environment and water. She wants to require AI data center companies to pay a fair share for energy and water in order to keep utility costs low for residents.
"AI can bring innovation and increase productivity across sectors. But AI job displacement now and in the future is a real risk. This would put hard-working people out of jobs, while sending even more profits to the ultra-rich," Barnett's website says.
Barnett said she would also incentivize investments into workers to deter "job-displacing technologies" and create funds for workers whose jobs have been displaced by AI.
Afton Pratt covers trending and breaking news for Knox News and Tennessee. She can be reached at ampratt@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: 'I guess I'm backwards and poor': Tim Burchett opposes Trump on data centers
