Trump says AI data centres should pay ‘dividends’ in pre-midterm shift

US president has continued to support data centres in advance of midterms, despite growing opposition from Republicans.

US President Donald Trump is seen in the Oval Office in White House in Washington, DC [Kevin Lamarque/Reuters]

United States President Donald Trump has said AI data centres should pay “dividends” to communities, in a shift before the midterm elections.

“If companies want to make their Data Centers popular, pay the community, and/or individuals within the community, a ‘dividend'” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday.

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The president’s comments come after he doubled down on his support for data centres, a stance seen as one of several political liabilities for Republicans in the run-up to the midterm election, as Trump’s approval rating has hit record lows.

Polls show dismal support for such centres amid concerns about the sprawling complexes’ water and energy use.

In the post, Trump advised companies that they could make the centres popular if they “pay the community, and/or individuals within the community, a ‘dividend’.”

“I have watched the process closely, and Data Centers that were highly unpopular in a certain area, have become extremely popular when a financial deal is struck,” he said. “MAKE DEALS, and get them built!!!”

Several top Republican candidates have opposed data centres before the midterm polls, with the issue emerging as an area of rare bipartisan consensus in advance of the November 3 vote.

Republican Senate candidates, including Ken Paxton in Texas, Mike Rogers in Michigan and John Husted in Ohio, have all called for more restrictions and oversight on the centres, in a reversal of earlier positions.

The issue featured prominently in a recent debate in Iowa, where Republican Senate Candidate Ashley Hinson said the local level should decide whether to build AI data centres.

Despite the shifting sentiment, Trump in late August issued an impassioned defence of data centres, decrying what he called “the anti-Data Center movement” as a gift to China.

“The only reason that communities throughout the USA should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor,” Trump wrote at the time.

“If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign.”

Trump has taken several measures to accelerate data centre development, including issuing an executive order last year that called for measures to fast-track permitting and environmental review. The order promised to use federal land for the “expeditious and orderly development of data centers”.

Trump has also backed a voluntary pledge by AI companies to cover the full cost of the electricity data centres use, but has avoided supporting legally binding federal restrictions.

A Gallup poll conducted in March suggested that 71 percent of Americans opposed establishing AI data centres in their areas.

An ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday identified a similar rate of disapproval, with 72 percent of respondents saying that they opposed building new data centres in their communities.

尽管共和党人的反对声越来越高，美国总统在中期选举前仍然继续支持数据中心建设。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在华盛顿特区白宫椭圆形办公室。[凯文·拉马克/路透社]

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在中期选举前夕表示，人工智能数据中心应该为社区带来“红利”。

特朗普周三在 Truth Social 上发帖称：“如果公司想让自己的数据中心受欢迎，就应该向社区和/或社区中的个人支付‘股息’。”

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总统发表上述言论之前，他曾加倍支持数据中心，而这一立场被视为共和党在中期选举前的几个政治劣势之一，因为特朗普的支持率已跌至历史新低。

民意调查显示，由于担心这些庞大建筑群的水和能源消耗问题，人们对这类中心的支持率很低。

在帖子中，特朗普建议各公司，如果他们“向社区和/或社区内的个人支付‘股息’”，就可以使这些中心受欢迎。

“我一直密切关注着这个过程，在某些地区原本不受欢迎的数据中心，一旦达成融资协议，就会变得异常抢手，”他说。“达成协议，然后把数据中心建起来！！！”

在中期选举前，几位共和党主要候选人都反对数据中心建设，这个问题在11月3日投票前成为罕见的两党共识领域。

包括德克萨斯州的肯·帕克斯顿、密歇根州的迈克·罗杰斯和俄亥俄州的约翰·赫斯特在内的共和党参议员候选人，都呼吁对这些中心实施更多限制和监督，这与他们之前的立场截然相反。

在最近爱荷华州的一场辩论中，这个问题成为了焦点。共和党参议员候选人阿什利·欣森表示，是否建设人工智能数据中心应该由地方政府决定。

尽管舆论风向有所转变，但特朗普在 8 月下旬发表了一篇热情洋溢的数据中心辩护文章，谴责他所谓的“反数据中心运动”是送给中国的礼物。

“美国各地社区不愿建设数据中心的唯一原因，就是他们想变得落后和贫穷，”特朗普当时写道。

“如果他们想要获得成功和财富，同时大幅降低税收，并在各地创造就业机会，那就让数据主宰一切吧。”

特朗普已采取多项措施加快数据中心建设，包括去年发布一项行政命令，要求加快审批和环境评估流程。该命令承诺利用联邦土地“迅速有序地开发数据中心”。

特朗普还支持人工智能公司自愿承诺承担数据中心使用的全部电力成本，但他一直避免支持具有法律约束力的联邦限制措施。

盖洛普3月份进行的一项民意调查显示，71%的美国人反对在其所在地区建立人工智能数据中心。

ABC 新闻/华盛顿邮报/益普索周三公布的一项民意调查显示，反对率也与之类似，72% 的受访者表示反对在其社区建设新的数据中心。