Mike Johnson Declares Opposition to Data Centers a ‘Chinese Psyop’
House Speaker Mike Johnson criticized opposition to data centers, dismissing concerns as part of a Chinese psychological operation and alleging that Democrats exploit such issues during election cycles to create fear. He emphasized the importance of continued innovation in data center advancement for maintaining U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence, warning against overregulation or moratoriums that could hinder progress. Johnson also claimed that opposition is influenced by Chinese disinformation campaigns, which are believed to manipulate public debate through bot farms and fake accounts on platforms like X. President Donald Trump expressed strong support for expanding AI infrastructure, including data centers, asserting that opposition is detrimental to economic growth and that China benefits from these anti-data center sentiments. The article highlights ongoing debates over data centers’ role in energy consumption and economic competitiveness, as well as efforts by social media platforms to combat influence campaigns that aim to distort public opinion on this issue.
House Speaker Mike Johnson recently dismissed opposition to data centers, saying that Democrats and China are playing mind games with Americans.
“This is what Democrats do every election cycle,” Johnson said in a video posted to X.
“They find something to glom onto and say that this is doom and gloom and everyone will die if we don’t win. Don’t buy it,” he said.
“It is a Chinese psyop. I really believe that. That’s not a conspiracy theory. I think they’re pushing those ideas,” he said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) SMACKS DOWN the AI DOOMERS and anti-data center ads as Chinese Propaganda. “Don’t buy it. It is a Chinese psyop.”
“This is what Democrats do every election cycle. They find something to, you know, glom onto and say that this is doom and gloom… pic.twitter.com/04pPWygvtM
— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) September 28, 2026
Data centers — massive buildings that hold the computing power needed for artificial intelligence — are controversial, with one strand of opinion saying they drive up utility costs and drain resources from local communities.
On the other hand, others say those negatives are overstated and that data centers are essential to keeping the United States in the lead in the artificial intelligence sector.
The concerns, coupled with fears that AI may slip beyond the ability of humans to control it, have spawned calls for regulation. Leading into the midterm elections, polling has shown, in general, that opposition to data centers outweighs support of them.
“We do not need a moratorium. We do not need to jump in and hyper-regulate this because we’ll lose the race to China,” Johnson said, according to Newsweek. “The innovation is important to continue.”
The Global Government Affairs Team on X has said debate is being manipulated by China.
“The X Safety team conducted an investigation into suspected Chinese inauthentic accounts involved in influence operations: We identified a bot farm of approximately 200,000 accounts. Within this farm, we found 200 accounts posting in a manner that could manipulate a legitimate debate about American AI and energy policy,” it said in a recent post on X.
“These posts contained claims that AI data centers are driving up household electricity prices and straining the grid,” the post added.
“Others included AI-generated cartoons that depicted data-center operators enriching themselves at the public’s expense. We remain committed to maintaining an open and authentic platform where people debate topics of public interest,” the post continued.
“We take seriously any attempts to undermine the integrity of the global town square and suspend accounts that violate our Authenticity policy.”
President Donald Trump supports expansion of AI, including data centers.
“The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor,” Trump posted in August on .
“If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign,” he wrote. “The good news is that there are plenty of other places that want them. If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame.”
“China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement. Actually, they can’t believe it is happening!” he posted.
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