At a midterm campaign rally in Vandalia, Ohio, President Trump made a forceful case for data centers, framing the issue as a matter of national competitiveness against China.
Trump warned that without these massive facilities, the United States risks falling behind in the global artificial intelligence race, which he has now taken to calling the race toward “superintelligence.”
“There’s so much money to be made for Ohio. You can’t just turn them off. They’ll go to China,” Trump told the crowd gathered in the Buckeye State on Saturday.
The president also pledged that his administration is actively working to ensure data centers “benefit local communities,” attempting to soften concerns that have turned the facilities into a political liability.
Data centers have become a flashpoint in one of the country’s most competitive Senate races, pitting appointed Republican Sen. Jon Husted against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.
Husted was appointed to fill the Senate seat vacated by Vice President JD Vance and now faces a serious challenge from Brown in what has become a closely watched midterm contest.
As Ohio’s former lieutenant governor, Husted played a central role in attracting data centers to the state, a decision that critics have since turned into a sustained line of political attack against him.
Brown wrote Friday on X: “Senator Jon Husted gave billions in tax breaks to Big Tech to make sure they would build their data centers in Ohio. Now, he’s making Ohioans foot the bill.”
Husted has responded by introducing legislation requiring large power users to shoulder more of their own costs, though Senate Democrats blocked the bill from advancing this past week.
Residents and lawmakers across the country have raised concerns about data centers’ enormous electricity demands and water usage, fears that have driven bipartisan opposition heading into the midterms.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee has identified Husted’s data-center history as a political vulnerability, even as the party’s most prominent figures rally around him in Ohio.
Sen. Tim Scott, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, sought to draw a contrast between the two candidates at the rally, telling reporters, “You got to remember, Sherrod Brown was for data centers, and Jon Husted is for data centers being responsible.”
Scott added that Husted’s position is straightforward: “If a community doesn’t want them, he doesn’t want them either.”
Trump’s visit also comes amid broader Republican anxiety that Husted’s campaign has struggled to generate enough momentum in what should be a reliably Republican state.
Despite the political headwinds, Trump has emerged as one of the loudest national voices defending data centers, insisting that the economic and technological stakes are far too high to let voter unease slow their development.
