By Chris Walker
This article was originally published by Truthout
Fetterman’s comments come as Trump describes those opposed to expanding data centers as “backwards.”
Right-leaning Democratic Party Sen. John Fetterman (Pennsylvania) has expressed support for the expansion of data centers, despite bipartisan pushback against their construction.
Fetterman’s remarks came on Monday following President Donald Trump’s post on Truth Social deriding Americans who have organized in opposition to the building of data centers.
“The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor,” Trump wrote. “If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign.”
Fetterman — who has expressed support for many Trump-led initiatives since being elected senator and is reportedly being courted by Republicans to switch parties — also stated his support for the expansion of data center construction.
In a post on X, Fetterman reacted positively to a Bloomberg report on Trump’s post by writing, “Agreed,” and adding, “We must win the war for AI supremacy over China.” He also suggested that he understood the political ramifications of his statement.
“There’s nothing more damaging to a Democrat than agreeing with Trump AND data centers,” Fetterman wrote. But he claimed his position is still the “right” one to stake.
Support for data centers isn’t just damaging to Democrats, as Fetterman has recognized — it’s a position that has bipartisan opposition.
According to a Fox News poll published in July, only 30 percent of respondents said they would support a data center being built in their area, while 70 percent opposed the idea. Sixty percent of Republicans opposed the construction of data centers near them, while 76 percent of Democrats were opposed.
Others reacted to Trump’s post less enthusiastically than Fetterman did. Chris Deluzio, a Democratic congressman who is also from Pennsylvania, condemned the president’s comments on data centers.
Trump’s post is “so disrespectful to people who have concerns about AI’s roles in our lives, or electricity costs, or whether good union jobs are part of this, or water supplies — you name it,” Deluzio said in a video post. “It certainly isn’t because they want to be backwards and poor.”
The construction of data centers across multiple states, particularly those used for AI systems, has led to grassroots resistance, with opponents voicing concerns over environmental impacts, rising costs of utility bills for regular consumers, air and noise pollution, and other issues. Those arguing in favor of regulation of such centers have also noted labor concerns regarding the expansion of AI centers.
“AI in the hands of the transnational capitalist class is an instrument of class warfare against the global working and popular classes,” explained William I. Robinson, professor of sociology at the University of California at Santa Barbara, writing for Truthout in an op-ed published in June. “AI accelerates the process whereby labor is deskilled, made precarious, and expelled through algorithmic restructuring of the labor process and outright automation.”
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