“You Have To Go With It” – President Trump Addresses Data Centers As White House Expands Pledge To Protect Consumers

President Trump on Thursday made remarks on AI data centers at the Environmental Protection Agency headquarters as the White House expanded a voluntary pledge for developers to shield U.S. consumers from higher costs.

“We know that the data centers and AI are dramatically increasing the demand for electricity. It’s only fair that the cost of building the new infrastructure required to meet this demand should be borne by the corporations themselves, not by the American consumers,” Trump explained.

“Earlier this year, I introduced the ‘Ratepayer Protection Pledge.’ Under this groundbreaking plan, America’s largest tech companies have formally committed to fund or build all energy infrastructure required to meet the demand they are placing on the grid. So they’re going to be funding all those electric needs, and we’re giving them the right to build their own power plants,” he continued.

Watch below:

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Data centers and AI are dramatically increasing the demand for electricity. It's only fair that the cost of building the new infrastructure required to meet this demand be borne by the corporations — not by American consumers. Under the Ratepayer Protection… pic.twitter.com/fhjkDUgiAg

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 23, 2026

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More from the Associated Press:

The president first announced the pledge with leading AI and tech companies in March, but that initial commitment has done little to comfort voters who are already grappling with affordability issues as they worry about competing for electricity, water and land with tech companies controlled by billionaires. It’s unclear, with electricity demand already growing, whether consumers would see genuine savings.

Trump is doubling down on the pledge at a time when the broader social contract is being rewritten by AI, a technology that is evolving so quickly in its capabilities that governments are struggling over how to provide oversight.

The president, in remarks about the pledge at the Environmental Protection Agency, called on the gathered executives and governors to sell the public on data centers, stressing that the cities and towns that do have them will be “rich.”

“You have to convince your community,” Trump said. “You can’t fight it. You have to go with it.”

The president added: “If you don’t take all that money, somebody else is going to take it. You might as well do it yourselves.”

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Watch below:

Trump on data centers: "You have to convince your communities how great these things are. You can't fight it. You have to go with it." pic.twitter.com/hRZW60fCN7

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 23, 2026

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“The American Innovators and consumers strive to win together because we’re insisting that AI data centers and big tech companies pay their own way,” Trump said.

“They’re going to have a lot of electricity left over, and they’ll put that into the grid so it’ll actually end up with more electricity. The rates are going to go down,” he continued.

Watch below:

NOW: President Trump has arrived at the EPA to announce a new AI energy initiative, making sure data centers are the ones footing the bill for their energy usage — NOT American families

They'll actually be producing MORE energy than they use, driving down rates for families.… pic.twitter.com/Z4fErRvaDh

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 23, 2026

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However, not everyone agrees with Trump’s remarks on AI data centers.

“Losing the issue by a mile,” The Blaze senior editor Daniel Horowitz commented.

Losing the issue by a mile. https://t.co/gHCZpqa2Yn

— Daniel Horowitz (@RMConservative) July 23, 2026

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“talk about not reading the room,” Luke Rudkowski said.

talk about not reading the room https://t.co/A5glLfsGBg

— Luke Rudkowski (@Lukewearechange) July 23, 2026

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Meanwhile, opposition to AI data centers has become a unifying issue across political spectrums in the Sunshine State.

We’ve now hit 20 cities / counties that have blocked large scale data centers in FL

Escambia meets tomorrow 7/23 at 5:30pm.

Next week Lake, Collier & Desoto meet on 7/28 to discuss pausing / banning data centers.

Email commissioners before the meeting and pack the room! pic.twitter.com/bdZL8FQrsA

— Justin Robert (@JustinWeRchange) July 23, 2026

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It has even become one of the defining issues in this November’s gubernatorial election.

“Governor DeSantis put smart safeguards in place for data centers. Senate Bill 484 ensures that utility rates will not go up due to data centers. It also ensures that any developer has to get a permit from our water management districts — that protects our aquifers from abuse,” said Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), the likely Republican nominee.

“I will ensure these ironclad protections remain in place to protect Floridians,” he added.

Watch below:

Governor DeSantis put smart safeguards in place for data centers. Senate Bill 484 ensures that utility rates will not go up due to data centers. It also ensures that any developer has to get a permit from our water management districts — that protects our aquifers from abuse.

I… pic.twitter.com/vW5drbjV2d

— Byron Donalds (@ByronDonalds) July 22, 2026

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The Tampa Bay Times explained further:

When former U.S. Rep. David Jolly last year launched his bid for the Democratic nomination for Florida governor, he bet that the race’s defining issue would be the rising costs of homeowners’ insurance.

But with less than a month to go before the Aug. 18 primary, Jolly said Tuesday he got it wrong. The statewide backlash against artificial intelligence data centers —not insurance — has eclipsed everything else on the campaign trail.

“It might be a single-issue campaign,” Jolly told the Tampa Bay Times. “If AI data centers do become the single issue of this race, I feel good that we’re on the right side of history and the voter.”

Jolly on Tuesday repeated that he wants a moratorium on data centers. He made the vow in a video posted on X that contrasted himself with his likely GOP rival in the Nov. 3 general election: U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds.

Donalds is considered the front-runner given his insurmountable edge in campaign contributions. But that advantage comes with a cost. Much of that money binds him to an industry that voters don’t trust right now.

His war chest includes at least $5 million from the AI industry-backed political committee Leading the Future. Another pro-industry political committee backed by OpenAI’s president and other tech moguls spent at least a half-million dollars running TV ads that promote Donalds for governor. That group aired about 1,700 TV ad spots targeting voters in the Tampa Bay and Tallahassee areas in March and April, according to Federal Communications Commission records.

Amid mounting criticism and scrutiny of his AI support, Donalds’ campaign says his views on AI haven’t changed. His message has been that while data centers are nearly inevitable, they can be managed so that Floridians are protected.

“I’m not anti-data center. I’m pro having a plan,” he said in February at Florida Gulf Coast University. “Data centers are going to be a function of American life going forward.”

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