Trump Promotes AI Dominance Amid Growing Grassroots Energy Backlash

President Donald Trump is positioning artificial intelligence as a central pillar of U.S. economic growth and a primary tool for maintaining technological dominance over China. To accelerate industry growth, Trump signed an order preventing states from imposing independent AI restrictions and authorized Nvidia Corp. to export high-end H200 chips to China.

This federal push is meeting significant resistance from voters concerned about job losses and rising household electricity bills caused by the expansion of data centers. This backlash contributed to recent Democratic victories in governorship contests in Virginia and New Jersey, where candidates campaigned on shielding citizens from AI-driven power price hikes. Local opposition is particularly concentrated in Lordstown, Ohio, the site of the $500 billion Stargate AI infrastructure project.

Administration officials, including National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, argue that AI will increase productivity and worker wealth. Conversely, former strategist Steve Bannon has warned that the technology risks replacing humans entirely. To address energy volatility, the White House plans to issue an executive order expanding the U.S. electric grid to increase power output and lower costs. Meanwhile, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has intervened to maintain sales tax exemptions for data centers to attract further business to the state.