Trump criticizes communities resisting nearby datacenter projects, linking opposition to economic decline

President Donald Trump criticized what he described as community resistance to datacenters being built close to homes, telling audiences that opponents of new data-center projects want the country to end up “backwards and poor,” according to remarks reported by The Guardian on August 31, 2026.

The comments come as datacenter proposals have faced increasing local scrutiny across the United States, with residents in multiple jurisdictions raising concerns about impacts they say would follow construction and operation. The Guardian report frames the dispute as a growing backlash that has become a feature of election-year arguments, in which national figures use local controversies to argue about costs, planning, and accountability.

The Guardian reported that a recent poll found “three-quarters of Americans” oppose datacenters being built next to their homes. In the same report, Trump’s remarks positioned the opposition as part of a broader question of who should bear the tradeoffs that come with hosting facilities that support cloud computing and other digital infrastructure.

The Guardian also described Trump’s message as directed at those rejecting new datacenters in their communities, and it cast the comments as a warning that turning away from the facilities could result in economic harm. The report did not specify the jurisdictions referenced by Trump or provide a verbatim transcript beyond the quoted characterization of opponents’ desired outcome.

The datacenter pushback debate intersects with questions that vary by state and locality, including zoning decisions, permitting timelines, local environmental and infrastructure planning, and how benefits such as investment and jobs compare with perceived risks or burdens. Those disputes often play out in public meetings and hearings and can culminate in legal challenges over land use and compliance with local and state requirements, though the Guardian report did not identify a specific case in connection with Trump’s remarks.

By tying national economic outcomes to local siting decisions, Trump’s comments reflect how datacenter growth has become politicized in the United States, with supporters arguing that additional capacity is needed for technology and business demands and with opponents arguing for limits or mitigation requirements. The Guardian report said the controversy is drawing attention in campaigns nationwide as voters weigh whether new facilities should be located near residential areas.

The next step for understanding the practical implications is to look at how individual projects respond to community concerns through permitting conditions, safety and infrastructure requirements, and any mitigation measures set by local authorities. As of the Guardian report, the remarks provide a political framing of the issue, but they do not substitute for the local regulatory processes that determine where projects can be built and under what terms.