Trump's Data Center Push Splits Republican Base Before Midterms

A significant divide is emerging within the Republican Party over data center expansion, with Donald Trump's enthusiastic support for the facilities clashing with growing opposition from his own base ahead of midterm elections.

New polling data reveals the scope of the split: 47 percent of Republicans oppose data center construction, according to a survey published by The New York Times. Overall, more than 60 percent of Americans reject new data center projects in their communities.

The MAGA resistance

Molly McCann Sanders, president of the Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund founded by Phyllis Schlafly, represents a vocal segment of conservative opposition. A self-described "crunchy MAHA mom" and Trump supporter, Sanders says she's "alarmed by the idea that these data centers can move in and pollute."

"I love Trump, but I think he's wrong about data centers," Sanders told WIRED senior writer Molly Taft, who first reported these details.

Trump has repeatedly defended the industry in recent weeks. In late August, he posted on Truth Social that only communities wanting to be "backwards and poor" would refuse data centers. When he issued additional pro-data-center posts last week, analysis of thousands of responses found anti-data-center comments outnumbered positive ones by four to one—even among staunch MAGA accounts.

Party strategists sound alarms

Republican operatives are taking notice. In August, the National Republican Senatorial Committee sent a private memo to AI companies warning that "campaign or party committees can not fix the toxic brand of an entire segment of the economy." Last week, GOP strategist Tony Fabrizio issued a memo claiming "unqualified support for building more AI data centers is a losing position."

Trump's position stems from his bullish stance on AI and concerns about Chinese competition, according to WIRED's Hugo Lowell. "He's been told that restricting data center development means restricting compute, which means the US loses to China," Lowell explained.

Some Republican candidates are breaking ranks. Tom Tiffany, the GOP nominee for Wisconsin governor who has Trump's endorsement, has attacked his Democratic opponent for allegedly pro-data-center views.

Why it matters

This policy split reveals a rare instance where Trump's technology priorities directly conflict with his base's environmental and property rights concerns. With data centers requiring massive land use, energy consumption, and generating noise pollution, the issue cuts across traditional partisan lines. The Times poll found that AI and data centers rank low on voters' priority lists, and nearly 20 percent don't know which party would handle the issue better—suggesting the political landscape remains fluid as facilities continue expanding nationwide.

The Interior Department is currently considering at least 12 data center proposals across more than 17,600 acres of public land, far exceeding previous estimates, according to reporting cited by WIRED.

These details were first reported by Molly Taft at WIRED.