ICYMI: New York Times: Trump Promotes Data Centers at Rally With Republican Facing Heat on Them
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Columbus, OH – Over the weekend, President Trump held a rally in Ohio to garner support for Ohio Republican candidates Jon Husted and Vivek Ramaswamy. Unfortunately for Jon Husted, Trump backed the very issue dragging him down in his race: data centers. This follows two failed attempts by Husted to distance himself from the issue by advocating for a voluntary data center costs bill experts have said is toothless, and a Republican senator even called it nothing more than a message bill.
On Saturday, a new poll found that voters trust his opponent, Sherrod Brown, more than Husted on the issue by 11 points. In response to Trump’s comments, Husted’s spokesperson told the New York Times that he believed data centers were “a local decision.” Unfortunately for Jon Husted, his entire tenure as senator has been as a rubber stamp for a president who shrugs at the energy affordability crisis and sneers at voters’ disdain for data centers, saying that communities with concerns just want to be “backwards and poor.”
With Ohio electricity bills hitting new highs and predicted to rise an additional $70 per month because of data centers, will Husted ever truly stand up to Trump’s pro-data-center agenda?
New York Times: Trump Promotes Data Centers at Rally With Republican Facing Heat on Them
President Trump defended the unpopular data centers that power the artificial intelligence industry as he campaigned in Ohio on Saturday with a vulnerable Republican senator who is trying to overcome voters’ concerns about the hulking complexes.
Speaking shortly after the senator, Jon Husted, Mr. Trump decided to address the prickly topic. “We want them,” Mr. Trump said of data centers. “Look, there’s so much money to be made for Ohio, you can’t just turn them off. They’ll go to China.” …
Many voters in Ohio are concerned about the facilities’ impact on energy prices, and a New York Times/Siena poll released on Saturday found that most voters in the state are opposed their construction. By an 11-point margin, voters trusted Mr. Brown more than Mr. Husted on the issue, according to the poll…
After Mr. Trump’s comments on Saturday, Mr. Brown’s campaign quickly issued a statement. “Jon Husted led the charge to bring data centers to Ohio, forcing Ohioans to pay thousands more in higher electric bills,” Lauren Chou, a spokeswoman for Mr. Brown, said in a statement that described Mr. Husted as the “face of data centers” in Ohio.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Husted, Amy Natoce, said in a statement that the senator believed data centers were “a local decision.”
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