According to Nanhua Morning Post report on August 5th, U.S. President Trump falsely accused China of fueling the growing opposition to AI data centers across the United States.
Trump said in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday during his trip to California, focused on economic issues ahead of the midterm elections: "A large part of that is due to China."
Look, who wins the AI competition will also win AI itself. This is more important than the internet, possibly even more important than anything that has happened for the past few hundred years.
Trump accused China of actively encouraging opposition to the construction of new artificial intelligence infrastructure within the United States.
He said, “Those communities that cause us trouble are often considered to be influenced by China. You know, China doesn’t want these projects to be built… They have spent a lot of money promoting ‘do not build’, because we are beating China in the field of artificial intelligence.”
The United States has the largest number of data centers in the world, surpassing Germany, the United Kingdom, China, and France. The number of data centers in the United States is about ten times that of China.
While Trump made these remarks, there was a growing opposition to artificial intelligence data centers across the United States, resulting in the postponement or obstruction of billions of dollars worth of planned investments.
On July 18th, the organization "Humans First," founded by former Tea Party organizer Amy Kremer and claiming to be a nonpartisan group, organized 142 protests in 42 states across the United States. They called this event the first national action day against the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States.
Texas, as the stronghold of the Republican Party and one of the largest concentration areas for data centers in the United States, hosted 18 protests, the highest number in the country. Georgia ranked second with 11 protests, followed by California with 8. Pennsylvania, Florida, and Indiana each held 7 protests.
Marjorie Steele, founder of the grassroots lobbying organization “Economic Development Responsibility Alliance of Michigan” in Michigan, said that although Trump won Michigan in the 2024 presidential elections, this issue is dividing the ranks of MAGA supporters there.
She previously said in an interview: “The MAGA camp is splitting apart… largely because Trump supports artificial intelligence centers.” She also added: “Trump is quickly losing supporters.”
She said, “You know, the whole idea of ‘we must win the arms race in artificial intelligence with China’… people don’t buy it.”
Opposition voices are particularly strong in rural areas and conservative communities. Local residents are concerned about rising electricity prices, extensive water consumption, conversion of farmland for other uses, noise pollution, and the loss of the community's original characteristics.
Recent polls show that this opposition to data centers has extended beyond organized activist groups. A Gallup survey found that about 70 percent of Americans oppose the construction of data centers near their homes.
In fact, Trump's similar statements are not new.
In mid-July, two non-profit organizations in Utah, USA, along with their founders, sued Fox News and the well-known investor Kevin O’Leary. They alleged that O’Leary had repeatedly claimed on the TV station that they were acting on behalf of China, which constituted defamation against them.
This lawsuit stems from statements made by O’Leary in May this year regarding his plan to build a data center covering 40,000 acres in Utah, which encountered opposition. According to the indictment, O’Leary accused the plaintiff of being a “Chinese agent”.
At that time, O’Leary falsely claimed that China “supported” protest activities in the United States against data centers.
According to the indictment, this “Shark Tank” star repeated similar accusations in at least 10 different episodes, claiming that he had evidence obtained through data science investigations. The lawsuit states that even though the plaintiff has publicly denied these claims, Fox News continued to invite O’Leary to the show, and its hosts acknowledged or supported his statements.
The indictment states that O’Reilly withdrew his statements after receiving the legal notice, and Fox News also made an apology. However, the plaintiff believes that they have suffered damages in terms of reputation, economy, and spirit.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly emphasized that the development of artificial intelligence is related to the common well-being of all humanity. All parties should bridge the digital and intelligent divide, safeguard security fundamentals, improve global governance, and jointly promote open, inclusive, beneficial, and positive development in artificial intelligence. The Chinese side opposes the use of ideology as a criterion and technological blockades. It is committed to balancing development with security. The Chinese side is willing to share experiences with all parties and enhance the global level of innovation and development in artificial intelligence.
