What would it take to actually stop the data centers?

Demonstrators wave signs during a nationwide protest against AI data center expansion in Imperial, California, on July 18, 2026. | Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images In the United States, building a data center now polls roughly as well as abolishing the police. If current trends continue, server warehouses may soon

Tech companies pour trillions of dollars into new data centers, the backbone of the AI boom. But many communities across the U.S. are rejecting them. A recent Gallup poll found that more than 70% of Americans don't want data centers in their area. St. Louis is in the middle of the national fight, and Tony Dokoupil take

WASHINGTON — President Trump on Monday doubled down on his support of data centers, claiming communities that reject them will end up “backwards and poor” — even as polls show most Americans don’t want them in their neighborhood. Data centers, once heralded by politicians across the aisle as job creators, have transfor

AI may be booming, but the infrastructure powering it has become a political liability. For years, governors competed to lure data centers with tax breaks, expedited permitting, and promises of jobs and investment. Now, as sprawling AI campuses drive concerns over electricity prices, water use, and local control, some

Three fourths of Americans oppose data centers. Why?

The Bulwark’s Tim Miller talks with author and Tulane professor Nathaniel Rich about climate change, the growing backlash to data centers, their security and privacy risks, and Rich’s new novel, Cloudthief.

Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) said Saturday she believes the ongoing legal battle over the Kennedy Center could stand in the way of President Trump tearing down the building, after his administration raised demolition as a possibility earlier this week. Beatty, an ex officio member of the center’s board who has successful