TEXAS — President Donald Trump is strongly defending the expansion of data centers across the United States, saying communities that oppose the massive developments risk becoming “backwards and poor” — even as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has increasingly pushed back against their expansion into rural communities.
The comments have a direct connection to Wharton County, where Amazon Data Services is moving forward with plans for 10 massive data center buildings near Boling.
The development has drawn questions and opposition from some area residents concerned about water, electricity, infrastructure and the long-term impact of placing a massive technology campus in rural Wharton County.
Trump did not specifically address Boling or Amazon’s Project Eagle development. His comments were aimed at the broader opposition to data centers spreading across the country.
“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 wrote on Truth Social.
Trump argued communities welcoming data centers could benefit from investment, jobs and lower taxes. He called the industry a “Golden Goose” as the United States competes with China for leadership in artificial intelligence.
But in Texas, the president’s position comes as Abbott has taken an increasingly tougher stance toward the same industry.
Abbott Pushes Back on Data Centers in Rural Texas
Abbott, who previously promoted Texas as a major destination for artificial intelligence investment, has spent recent months calling for tougher restrictions as opposition has grown in rural communities.
In June, Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas and ERCOT to take steps to prevent residential customers from being stuck with infrastructure costs created by massive new data centers.
Abbott said data centers should pay for the electrical infrastructure needed to serve them, conserve water and avoid negatively affecting surrounding neighborhoods.
He has also called for data centers to add power to the Texas grid rather than simply consume it, use more water-efficient cooling systems, disclose their electricity and water needs and face the elimination of outdated tax incentives.
Abbott later went even further during a campaign appearance in East Texas.
“We must prohibit them from building AI data centers in rural Texas neighborhoods,” Abbott said.
He also said companies looking to develop the facilities in Texas should bring their own money and power, reuse their water and pay for their projects rather than shifting costs onto Texas residents.
The governor’s position does not amount to opposition to every data center in Texas. Instead, Abbott has said the industry should operate under stronger rules designed to protect residents, particularly in rural communities.
That distinction is especially significant for Wharton County.
Amazon Plans 10 Data Centers Near Boling
Amazon Data Services is behind Project Eagle, a massive data center development planned near Boling.
State construction records initially revealed four data center buildings. Additional filings later revealed another six, bringing the known project to 10 data center buildings.
Each building is approximately 189,060 square feet, meaning the 10 buildings together would account for roughly 1.89 million square feet of data center space.
The state filings list estimated construction costs of approximately $300 million per building, putting the combined estimated construction cost of the 10 data center buildings at approximately $3 billion.
That does not necessarily represent the total investment associated with the broader development, which includes additional infrastructure needed to support the campus.
For a rural area like Boling, the scale is significant.
Boling Residents Are Asking Some of the Same Questions
The development has already generated concerns from some residents around Boling and surrounding portions of Wharton County.
Water has been among the most closely watched issues.
Plans associated with the development have included significant water infrastructure, while groundwater well requests connected with the project have also gone before the Coastal Bend Groundwater Conservation District.
Residents have also questioned electricity demand, transmission infrastructure, land use and what the development could mean for the rural character of the area.
Those concerns closely resemble the issues Abbott says Texas must address.
In announcing his statewide standards, Abbott said data centers “must not pass costs on to Texas families or interfere with their quality of life.”
That puts Wharton County in an unusual position: Trump is strongly defending the industry nationally while Texas’ Republican governor is calling for tougher restrictions on how and where the facilities are developed.
Data Centers Become a Midterm Election Issue
The debate is also becoming increasingly political as the November 2026 midterm elections approach.
Data center opposition has crossed traditional party lines, particularly in rural communities where residents have raised concerns about electricity prices, water supplies and land use.
Polling from the University of Texas/Texas Politics Project found 57% of Texans opposed construction of data centers in their own communities, with opposition even higher among rural Texans.
The backlash has put pressure on politicians from both parties to address the rapid expansion.
Abbott’s tougher position comes after years in which Texas aggressively promoted itself as a destination for technology and artificial intelligence investment. Democrats have also seized on the issue, arguing that state leaders have allowed data center development to move too quickly without enough protections for communities.
Nationally, data centers are also becoming an election-year issue as candidates weigh the economic benefits of billions of dollars in investment against increasingly vocal opposition from residents.
The debate could be particularly important in rural areas — many of which strongly supported Trump in previous elections but are also among the places where resistance to data centers has been strongest.
Trump and Abbott Strike Different Tones
Trump and Abbott are not necessarily arguing that data centers should disappear.
But their rhetoric shows a noticeable difference in how they are approaching the growing backlash.
Trump is warning communities about the economic consequences of rejecting the industry, arguing that communities willing to welcome the facilities could benefit from jobs, investment and technological growth.
Abbott has focused more heavily on what data centers should be required to do before Texas communities are expected to accept them.
His message has been that data centers should pay their own way, bring additional power, conserve or reuse water, protect neighborhoods and not leave Texans paying higher electricity costs.
He has even called for prohibiting them from being built in rural Texas neighborhoods.
The National Debate Has Arrived in Wharton County
For Wharton County, this is no longer an abstract debate about the future of artificial intelligence.
Amazon is planning 10 data center buildings near Boling, totaling roughly 1.89 million square feet and carrying approximately $3 billion in estimated construction costs for the buildings alone.
Some residents see risks to water, electricity and the rural character of their community.
Amazon and the broader data center industry point to massive private investment, construction activity and the infrastructure required for America’s rapidly expanding digital economy.
Abbott says Texas can have that investment — but companies must protect communities and pay their own way.
Trump’s message is considerably sharper.
He says communities unwilling to embrace data centers risk being left “backwards and poor.”
With the November midterms approaching and opposition growing in rural Texas, the fight over data centers is becoming more than an economic development debate.
It is becoming a political one — and with 10 Amazon data centers planned near Boling, Wharton County is now part of it.