Trump tells tech giants to pay communities a 'dividend' to win support for AI data centers as backlash grows

President Donald Trump has shifted his position after cautioning in August that communities blocking data centers risked becoming 'backwards and poor'. In a Truth Social post he called on developers to 'MAKE DEALS, and get them built!!!' An AP-NORC poll showed that 53 percent of Americans are extremely or very concerned about AI's environmental toll, up from 41 percent last year. Around six in 10 support restrictions on new construction.

Opposition to data centers is bringing together voters from both parties ahead of November's midterms.

Trump reiterated his demand that companies generate their own power and feed any surplus back into the grid.

Most planned US data centers are in rural areas, while 87 percent of existing sites are urban.