Saying communities that oppose data centers would become "backwards and poor," President Donald Trump on Aug. 31 praised the economic benefits that they can bring, including lower taxes and abundant jobs.
In his Truth Social post, Trump admonished data center critics, saying, "The good news is that there are plenty of other places that want them. If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame. China could not be happier with this anti-data center movement."
Critics locally have cited electricity drain, water usage and more recently, environmental concerns from data centers that are increasingly being powered by natural gas, The Dispatch has reported. Opponents concede there are income tax benefits from the many jobs created
during their construction, but note that those are short-term benefits.
Steve Stivers, Ohio Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, said that "even if you account for massive natural gas plants in the future," natural gas will have far less impact on air quality than coal, which currently provides more than one-fifth of Ohio's power and is being phased out. Stivers suggested ongoing work to mitigate environmental impacts "the best we can."
"We are all for economic growth in Ohio," said Stivers. "But we have to live on this planet also and don't want to do anything to harm the environment."
The issue has rapidly become one of the defining issues of the 2026 midterm election cycle. Democratic candidates and increasingly more Republicans have turned sharply against data centers in their messaging as public backlash intensifies over their enormous size, staggering energy consumption, noise and lack of direct benefits to surrounding neighborhoods.
There are currently more than 4,700 data centers in the U.S., more than 230 in Ohio. A Gallup poll conducted in March found 71% of Americans oppose the construction of data centers in their areas ‒ including 75% of Democratic voters, 63% of Republican voters and 74% of independents.
Still, Trump, who is aligned with many technology CEOs and their companies that have contributed mightily to his campaign and other goals, insists that artificial intelligence, driven by data centers, is critical to U.S. economic and even military world dominance.
Neither of Ohio's U.S. Senators, Jon Husted nor Bernie Moreno, immediately returned calls for comment from The Dispatch.
Lydia Mihalik, director of the Ohio Department of Development, reposted Trump's comments on X, saying, "Well, I guess that's one way of looking at it."
USA Today contributed to this story.
Growth and development reporter Dean Narciso can be reached at dnarciso@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Trump says 'backwards and poor' awaits those not embracing data centers
