{"id":2691350,"date":"2026-10-25T15:00:01","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T19:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pay-the-community-trump-pushes-builders-to-give-local-americans-extra-payday-to-put-up-with-unpopular-data-centers\/"},"modified":"2026-10-25T15:00:01","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T19:00:01","slug":"pay-the-community-trump-pushes-builders-to-give-local-americans-extra-payday-to-put-up-with-unpopular-data-centers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pay-the-community-trump-pushes-builders-to-give-local-americans-extra-payday-to-put-up-with-unpopular-data-centers\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Pay the Community&#8217;: Trump Pushes Builders to Give Local Americans Extra Payday to Put Up with Unpopular Data Centers"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">38<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpay-the-community-trump-pushes-builders-to-give-local-americans-extra-payday-to-put-up-with-unpopular-data-centers%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2691350&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>President Donald Trump told data center builders early Wednesday to pay the communities around their projects if they want local support.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\" dir=\"ltr\">Trump <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" dir=\"ltr\" href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/117477279556215047\">wrote<\/a> on , his social media platform, that if companies want their data centers to be popular, they should \u201cpay the community, and\/or individuals within the community, a \u2018dividend.\u2019\u201d He said that new large data centers \u201care mandated by me to make their own electricity, and give or sell any excess back to the local community, or grid,\u201d and that \u201cthere could be a substantial decrease\u201d in electricity prices.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cI have watched the process closely, and Data Centers that were highly unpopular in a certain area, have become extremely popular when a financial deal is struck,\u201d the president added in the post. \u201cMAKE DEALS, and get them built!!!\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\" dir=\"ltr\">Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services and the Data Center Coalition \u2014 a trade group for data center companies \u2014 each did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation\u2019s requests for comment. The White House and Meta each did not immediately provide comments on the record.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\" dir=\"ltr\">The post comes about two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. An ABC News\/Washington Post\/Ipsos <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" dir=\"ltr\" href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.com\/Politics\/americans-ai-bad-society-oppose-data-centers-abcpostipsos\/story?id=137414085\">poll<\/a> released Wednesday found that 72 percent of Americans oppose building a new data center where they live, including 58 percent of Republicans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\" dir=\"ltr\">The poll found opposition to a nearby data center was highest in rural areas, at 78 percent. Thirty percent of Americans said they support building more data centers in the country, a  that rose to 53 percent among MAGA Republicans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\" dir=\"ltr\">Trump floated a data center \u201cdividend\u201d Sept. 29, the day he hosted technology executives at the White House, telling reporters that \u201ca dividend sounds right,\u201d Newsweek <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" dir=\"ltr\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/trump-floats-fresh-data-center-dividend-after-meeting-ai-tech-leaders-12504032\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cData centers are bringing in a tremendous amount of money into the community, and the people now are going to benefit directly,\u201d he said at the time, according to the outlet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\" dir=\"ltr\">A Kansas City, Missouri-based developer has already offered Pennsylvania residents the kind of payment Trump is talking about. NorthPoint Development said in a June 24 <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" dir=\"ltr\" href=\"https:\/\/www.projecthazelnut.com\/updates\/project-hazelnut-june-2026\">release<\/a> that each eligible Hazle Township household would get a $10,000 grant once the first building of Project Hazelnut, its planned data center campus there, receives its certificate of occupancy, which the company expects in late 2027.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\" dir=\"ltr\">The grants are part of a $165 million package that also includes $7 million a year for the township over 15 years, which the company said could pay for a township police force and lower trash fees. NorthPoint also said that the campus would create more than 900 permanent jobs. NorthPoint did not immediately respond to the DCNF\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\" dir=\"ltr\">Some neighbors have not been won over.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cI call it a bribe,\u201d Ed Negra, a retiree who lives in a resort community above the cleared site, told Agence France-Presse\u00a0(AFP). Hazle Township residents have won a court order halting construction and a township moratorium, the outlet <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" dir=\"ltr\" href=\"https:\/\/www.taipeitimes.com\/News\/world\/archives\/2026\/10\/20\/2003866301\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\" dir=\"ltr\">Not every offer has held up. Frederick County, Maryland, announced Sept. 1 a proposed agreement with Catellus, the developer of a data center campus there, that would have provided $110 million in benefits for residents, according to a county <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" dir=\"ltr\" href=\"https:\/\/frederickcountymd.gov\/m\/newsflash\/home\/detail\/5873\">announcement<\/a>. The package included $30 million to renovate an elementary school, $40 million toward a community center and $1 million so the local volunteer fire company could buy an engine. County Executive Jessica Fitzwater rejected the agreement Sept. 14 amid public outcry and extended the county\u2019s moratorium on data center applications to July 1, 2027, WYPR <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" dir=\"ltr\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wypr.org\/wypr-news\/2026-09-15\/frederick-county-rejects-agreement-with-data-center-developer-amidst-public-outcry\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\" dir=\"ltr\">The White House has also pushed tech companies to pay for the power their data centers use. A July 23 White House <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" dir=\"ltr\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/releases\/2026\/07\/president-trumps-ratepayer-protection-pledge-secures-american-ai-dominance-protects-consumers\/\">release<\/a> said that more than 200 utilities, states, cooperatives and data center developers had newly joined the administration\u2019s Ratepayer Protection Pledge, and that the pledge now covers 80 percent of all power delivered to U.S. homes and businesses.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\" dir=\"ltr\">The pledge commits large data center operators to pay for the power and the grid work their projects need, so these costs are not passed on to ratepayers, according to the release. It said that Meta is covering the whole cost of connecting its data center in Richland Parish, Louisiana, under a deal with the utility Entergy, and that the developer Crusoe is powering its 900-megawatt campus in Abilene, Texas, entirely with its own natural gas generators and batteries on site.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cIf the data center is tied into the grid, even if it is just for emergency power, it could drive up the grid portion of household expenses,\u201d Eric Smith, associate director of the Tulane Energy Institute, said in a statement to the DCNF. He added that a data center competing with the local utility for fuel \u201ccould negatively impact the cost of power by creating extra demand for limited fuel supplies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\" dir=\"ltr\">Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in an Aug. 10 <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" dir=\"ltr\" href=\"https:\/\/about.fb.com\/news\/2026\/08\/the-future-is-for-everyone\/\">letter<\/a> on the company\u2019s website that teachers in Richland Parish \u201creceived a $50,000 bonus this year because of the increased tax revenue from our investment.\u201d He wrote that Meta is launching a fund \u201cto support each community we work in directly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\" dir=\"ltr\">The poll of 2,545 U.S. adults was conducted Oct. 9-13 using the Ipsos KnowledgePanel, and its overall margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points. 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Trump wrote on , his social media platform, that if companies want their data centers to be popular, they should \u201cpay the community, and\/or individuals within the community, a \u2018dividend.\u2019\u201d He said that new<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2691351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_4651.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2691350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_4651.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2691350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2691350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2691350\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2691351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2691350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2691350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2691350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}