At a recent event with tech executives, President Donald Trump stood firm in his support for data centers, noting that they are “really financially beneficial.” He was right to do so. Data centers have existed quietly in America for decades. For years, no one held rallies against them. Campaign ads did not feature foreboding gray buildings. Pollsters never identified them as a wedge issue.
That changed the moment they became politically useful.
Stay informed.Stay ahead.
Join Washington Examiner for unlimited access to the news, analysis, and commentary that matter most.
Already a member? Log in
Polling from Public First and developers’ experiences explain why. Left-wing voters energized by environmental politics and a segment of rural Republicans unsettled by change in their communities and the digitization of the economy are both anxious about data centers. That combination is a political operative’s dream — two groups who agree on almost nothing, united in anxiety about the same buildings. In a close district, a challenger can mobilize that unlikely coalition, put the incumbent on the defensive, and walk away with a win on an issue that, examined plainly, should not be controversial.
Step back from the politics and look at what is actually happening in communities where data centers exist. Data centers are causing electricity rates to fall, not rise. Data centers use a small fraction of the water of other industries. Efficiency innovations continue to improve both metrics.
In Richland Parish, Louisiana, Meta’s data center represents the largest private investment in the parish’s history. The results are direct and visible: a teacher bonus program funded by data center revenues delivers bonuses of up to $50,000 to educators. In a state where teacher pay has long been a source of frustration and flight, that kind of money keeps experienced teachers in classrooms that need them.
In Quincy, Washington, a small agricultural town of roughly 8,000 people, over a decade of data center investment from Microsoft and others has produced something remarkable. The town built a new public library that it could not have funded otherwise. A new aquatic center opened. School budgets expanded. Road and utility infrastructure improved. And property tax rates for ordinary residents fell, because the data center tax base grew faster than the cost of running the community. The jobs created are not remote tech positions. They include electricians, HVAC technicians, fiber specialists, and construction workers. These are high-paying trades that bring positive economic activity to the area.
In Columbia County, Georgia, a Google data center investment has been so substantial that the county is eliminating a significant portion of its property taxes, and electricity rates are frozen for years. In Loudoun County, Virginia, which has more data centers than anywhere else in the country, homeowners save an average of $5,800 per year on property taxes thanks to data center revenue.
The arithmetic behind these outcomes is straightforward, and it is why Trump is correct that data centers make communities rich. A large data center brings some high-paying jobs, billions of dollars in capital investment, and generates reliable tax revenue. But unlike a typical factory, it doesn’t often arrive with many thousands of new families demanding proportional increases in schools, roads, and emergency services. The revenue per existing resident is exceptional. That is the structural advantage, and communities that understand it and negotiate well come out dramatically ahead.
Nobody wants a data center next to their home. That is fair and should shape siting decisions. But the same is true of train stations, electrical substations, and warehouses. The answer cannot be “therefore build nothing anywhere.” The answer is thoughtful siting and ensuring the benefits flow to the community. When Richland Parish gets teacher bonuses, Quincy gets a library, and Georgians and Virginians see their taxes go down, the community’s relationship with a data center changes. It is no longer an imposition. It is a partner.
The broader stakes are hard to overstate. The artificial intelligence infrastructure buildout is responsible for a full percentage point of American GDP growth, with over $500 billion in announced investment flowing into American communities. The country that leads in AI infrastructure leads in the 21st century, both economically and militarily. Data centers are the physical substrate of that competition. You cannot win the AI race without building them. You cannot build them if a manufactured panic convinces communities they are a threat rather than an opportunity.
OPINION: SENATE DEMOCRATS JUST FILIBUSTERED YOUR POWER BILL TO SPITE REPUBLICANS
We need to grow faster than our debt. We need to enrich communities that have been left behind. We need to maintain superpower status in an era of intensifying competition. Data centers, sited well and structured to share their benefits, help accomplish all of it.
Trump isn’t saying ignore the communities. He’s saying to look at what actually happens to them. Data centers have been around for a long time. Now that everyone is paying attention, let’s make sure we’re looking at the reality — not the politics.
Brian Morgenstern is senior vice president of public policy at Riot Platforms. He served as White House deputy press secretary and deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury during the first Trump administration.