I’m pretty sure President Donald Trump would love to see a sprawling data center go up near his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
The president raved about data centers Sept. 29, following a meeting with tech CEOs whose artificial intelligence development, which may or may not bring an end to humanity, relies on giant, water-guzzling buildings filled with humming computer servers.
Speaking of communities that welcome data centers, Trump said: “I think the companies will be very generous to them, both financially and otherwise. I think they'll help with their schools, they'll help with their teachers, they'll help with pay of the teachers. … They're going to be very generous with communities, and I think, in a way, they're going to be forming
partnerships with communities when they open up data centers, and they're going to benefit both financially, morally, every single way.”
Wow! If there’s one thing our president likes it’s benefiting financially, so I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t want one of these apparently awesome data centers near or on top of one of his golf courses.
Trump's right, everyone loves data centers. All 11% of us
Heck, if you listen to the president and the already rich tech executives who stand to become richer if AI takes off, everyone supports the construction of an artificial intelligence data center in their local community! Or, as a recent University of Massachusetts Amherst Poll put it, “just 11% of Americans say they would support the construction of an artificial intelligence data center in their local community.”
Heck, 11% is just one zero away from 101%. Potato, potahto.
Don't worry, citizens. Tech companies say data centers are just fine (wink)
While Democrats and even some Republicans in states and cities across the country have been instituting moratoriums on data centers and generally running away from the issue like it was a hungry bear, companies like Microsoft have been busy reassuring us that everything will be just fine.
Microsoft launched its community-first infrastructure initiative, which promises that the company will “ensure” their data centers “don’t increase your electricity prices” (wink) and that Microsoft will “minimize our water use and replenish more of your water than we use" (giant wink).
It seems unlikely a large corporation racing to gain a competitive advantage over other large corporations would ever lie about anything in order to reach its goals. So this all sounds 11% legit.
Sorry, I meant 101% legit.
Sure seems like Trump is dying to get a Mar-a-Lago-adjacent data center
Back in August, Trump said of data centers: “I can say, if I were the mayor of a town or the governor of a state, and I had a chance to get a big plant in, an AI plant or a data center, I would absolutely want it because the jobs are enormous, and the money paid, the taxes paid are just enormous. And if you don't take it, you're going to be left behind because there are plenty of places that want it.”
OK! Since President Trump is even higher ranking than a town mayor or a governor, I’ll put him down for one big, honkin’ data center to be placed as close to Mar-a-Lago as possible, something I’m sure he “would absolutely want.”
According to the commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, the average parcel for a data center in 2024 “spanned 224 acres.” There wouldn’t be enough room at Mar-a-Lago, but the president owns the nearby Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, and it’s 330 acres. That provides space for a luxurious data center, with room to spare!
The tech CEOs who, like Trump, rave about the benefits of data centers will surely lead by example and have these hubs of AI put up adjacent to their various mansions, or on the islands where they may or may not hunt humans for sport.
If not, we regular folks might be forced to conclude that all their “Data centers are the best!” rhetoric rings a bit …artificial.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @rexhuppke.bsky.social and on Facebook at facebook.com/RexIsAJerk.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says data centers are great. I found 330 acres for one | Opinion
