AI billionaires pour billions into securing data centers as poll opposition rises to 61%

According to Decrypt, Build American AI, an advocacy group under the super PAC "Leading the Future" backed by Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, has announced it will invest millions of dollars in advertising across Kansas, Ohio, and Wisconsin to strongly support data center construction. However, a recent poll from the Annenberg Public Policy Center shows that 61% of U.S. respondents oppose building new data centers locally, a significant rise from 49% earlier this year. A majority opposed the projects across all major political affiliations, with Democrats at 69%, Republicans at 54%, and Independents at 53%. President Trump commented on the matter, stating that communities resisting data centers would be "backward and poor," and warned that China is eager to see this backlash. Currently, New York has imposed a moratorium on hyperscale data centers, Texas has halted approvals, and multiple cities have followed with bans. According to Data Center Watch, approximately $130 billion in projects faced obstacles or delays in the first quarter of 2026.