US President Donald Trump has warned that AI data centres could move to China if the United States rejects their expansion, while supporting measures to protect American households from higher electricity costs linked to massive computing facilities.
US President Donald Trump has warned that artificial intelligence (AI) data centres could move to China if the United States prevents their expansion, arguing that America needs massive computing infrastructure to remain competitive in the global technology race.
Trump made the remarks during a campaign rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on Saturday, where he was campaigning for Republican Senator Jon Husted and Indian-American Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.
Defending the rapid development of data centres, Trump said the United States should welcome the facilities because of the economic and technological benefits they could generate. He argued that restricting their construction could encourage companies to shift their investments overseas, particularly to China.
“We want them,” Trump said while referring to data centres. “There’s so much money to be made for Ohio. You can’t just turn them off. They’ll go to China.”
Trump also stressed the importance of maintaining the United States’ lead over China in artificial intelligence and advanced computing. “We’re beating China,” he said, linking the expansion of data centres to the broader competition between Washington and Beijing over emerging technologies.
The comments come as the rapid growth of AI data centres has become a major policy issue in Ohio and other parts of the United States. The facilities require enormous amounts of electricity to operate and support increasingly powerful AI systems. Their expansion has raised concerns that additional demand could increase electricity costs for households and require major investments in power generation and transmission infrastructure.
While backing the expansion of data centres, Trump said his administration was taking what he described as “historic action” to ensure that large technology facilities benefit local communities rather than shifting their costs onto ordinary consumers.
Trump endorsed the Ratepayer Protection Act promoted by Husted, saying the proposed legislation would prevent data centres from increasing electricity costs for other consumers. Under the proposal, large facilities would be required to cover costs associated with the additional electricity demand generated by their operations.
“I will sign this Ratepayer Protection Act into law immediately,” Trump said.
However, the legislation has not yet been enacted. An attempt to advance the measure in the US Senate failed earlier in the week, leaving its future uncertain.
The debate reflects a growing challenge for US utilities as technology companies expand their computing capacity to train and operate advanced AI models. Large data centres can consume vast quantities of electricity, potentially requiring new power plants, transmission lines, substations and other infrastructure.
Trump’s remarks also placed the data-centre debate within his administration’s wider push to maintain US leadership in artificial intelligence. The President has increasingly highlighted the importance of what he calls “super intelligence” and has argued that access to advanced computing infrastructure will be critical to future economic and technological competitiveness.
The discussion came shortly before the White House announced that the United States and 16 other countries had endorsed the Kyoto Vision for a Golden Age of Science at an international science and technology gathering in Japan.
The declaration calls for greater access to advanced intelligence tools, scientific data, computing infrastructure and experimental facilities. Supporters say such cooperation could help accelerate scientific research and technological development.
Trump’s Ohio appearance was also part of a broader Republican campaign effort ahead of the midterm elections. Republicans are seeking to maintain control of Congress, with Ohio emerging as an important political battleground.
Husted, who was appointed to the US Senate seat vacated after JD Vance became Vice-President, is seeking election to the seat against former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown.
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Meanwhile, Ramaswamy, the son of Indian immigrants and a former biotechnology entrepreneur, is the Republican candidate for Ohio Governor. He previously sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. He is running against Democrat Amy Acton, a physician and former Director of the Ohio Department of Health.
Trump’s warning highlights the growing intersection between AI development, energy policy and US-China technological competition, as governments and technology companies seek to expand computing capacity while addressing the substantial electricity demands of the AI industry.
