Donald Trump’s data center push creates an awkward squeeze for fellow Republicans

President Trump wants data centers everywhere. His own voters, it turns out, do not. That disconnect is creating one of the more unusual fault lines in Republican politics heading into the 2026 midterms. Trump has positioned data centers as the backbone of America’s AI ambitions, calling them potentially “bigger than oil.” But in the communities where these massive facilities would actually get built, the reception has been considerably less enthusiastic. The numbers tell a messy story Polling conducted in late August 2026 found that 47% of people who voted for Trump in 2024 oppose new data center construction in their areas. Just 35% of that same group favor it. Zoom out from the Trump base, and the opposition gets even steeper. Roughly 70% of local communities have expressed bipartisan resistance to new data center projects. The United States currently hosts approximately 5,400 data centers, with projections calling for nearly 50% growth by 2030. That expansion requires land, water, and enormous amounts of electricity. Local backlash has already resulted in project delays or cancellations valued at tens of billions of dollars. Abbott breaks ranks, carefully Texas Governor Greg Ab...