US President Donald Trump has said companies building data centres should provide financial benefits to the communities hosting them, arguing that such arrangements could improve public support for the projects.
Trump made the remarks on Wednesday in a post on Truth Social, saying he had observed cases where data centre developments that initially faced strong opposition became popular after companies reached financial agreements with local communities.
“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,” Trump said.
The growing number of data centres supporting artificial intelligence (AI) development has become a contentious issue in communities across the United States. The facilities require substantial amounts of electricity and water, raising concerns among residents and drawing opposition from people across political divides.
The Trump administration has prioritised accelerating AI development to help the United States compete with China, while also acknowledging changing public attitudes towards the infrastructure needed to support the technology.
In his post, Trump said he had directed new and large-scale data centres to generate their own electricity and provide or sell any excess power to the communities where they operate or to the electricity grid.
“New and large, in some cases gigantic, Data (centers) are mandated by me to make their own electricity, and give or sell any excess back to the local community, or grid,” he said.
Trump previously stated in February that major technology companies should build their own power plants to supply their data centres and help protect consumers from rising electricity bills.
His latest comments come as major AI companies explore ways to share some of the financial benefits of the industry’s rapid growth with the wider public.
Anthropic, the company behind the Claude AI models, announced over the weekend that it would allocate five per cent of its shares to a new fund dedicated to the public good.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk pledged on Monday to give one SpaceX share to every child in America, proposing direct distributions as the expanding AI sector faces increasing public scrutiny.
The proposals reflect growing debate over how communities and the wider public should benefit from the expansion of AI infrastructure and the wealth generated by the technology industry.
