'MAKE DEALS': Trump says data centers should pay communities a 'dividend' to win support

TechPublished Wed, Oct 21 20262:52 AM EDTKey PointsPresident Donald Trump urged data center companies to strike financial deals in a Truth Social post.Data center development has become a political flashpoint as communities raise concerns about electricity, water and land use ahead of the November midterm elections.U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged data center companies to "MAKE DEALS" with local communities to ensure their support for the costly facilities. Trump said that to make them more popular, data center operators should pay the community, "and/or individuals within the community, a 'dividend.'""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. MAKE DEALS, and get them built!!! GREAT FOR THE U.S.A.," the president said in a post on Truth Social.Data centers have become a hot-button issue ahead of the midterm elections in November. Public opposition to the buildout of the facilities and their environmental impact has been growing, with multiple states considering moratoriums.Data center stocks have also come under pressure this week amid growing concerns about the financial health of the sector. As the AI infrastructure buildout grows more costly, companies are increasingly turning to debt markets to finance deals.When it comes to investing in infrastructure underpinning the technology, HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery advised discernment over an all-in approach."One has to be selective," Elhedery told CNBC's Dan Murphy on Tuesday. "You have to look at the quality of the tenancy agreements. You have to look at the pricing of these contracts. Not all of them are of that level of virtuosity that you can support strongly. Some of them may be more challenging."Power constraintsMuch of the concern centers around water usage, power consumption, electricity prices, and the sheer amount of space that some centers require. Access to power is a major constraint on the sector, as power grids in the U.S. and Europe become overwhelmed with applications from large energy users like data centers.Trump, a long-time supporter of data centers, said Wednesday that he has been watching them "very closely" and has now come to a "very strong conclusion.""New and large, in some cases gigantic, Data enters are mandated by me to make their own electricity, and give or sell any excess back to the local community, or grid, and therefore there is electric price increase. In fact, there could be a substantial decrease," Trump said.Read more data center newsAmerica’s data center fight is a preview of what’s to come for the rest of the worldSpaceX launches Google AI chips into orbit in push toward space-based data centersAI data centers are transforming rural land markets — and fueling a backlashNvidia plays matchmaker in Nordics, sources tell CNBC, as AI data center deals boom in regionAnthropic and OpenAI hunt for smaller data center deals, sources tell CNBC, in race to deploy AI capacityBill to curb AI data center utility costs hits snag in SenateThe AI boom is colliding with a new threat: Severe weatherDigital Realty falls 5% after taking $3.5 billion stake in Blackstone’s Virginia data centersAnthropic’s latest hiring spree reveals where it’s building AI data centers nextNo one wants AI data centers on Earth. Do they make sense in space?Why AI demand is pushing data centers to the edge of EuropeDenmark faces data center reckoning as power grid overwhelmed by surging demandMajor data center company pauses investment decisions in Middle East amid Iran war, CEO tells CNBCAnthropic looks to hire six-figure role for negotiating data center deals to fuel Europe AI expansionAI data center boom ‘stress tests’ insurers as private capital floods inData center expansion reaches an ‘inflection point’How the AI debt binge shattered hyperscalers’ ‘unspoken contract’ with investorsPowering AI: Europe switches on its first microgrid-connected data centerHow the red-hot AI data center boom is igniting demand for a new, lucrative career path: Trade workersDust to data centers: The year AI tech giants, and billions in debt, began remaking the American landscapeQuantum’s big leap puts data centers in the spotlightData center deals hit record $61 billion in 2025 amid construction frenzy