President Donald Trump pitched AI data centers as an economic windfall that governors and local officials can't afford to reject. "You can't fight it. You have to go with it," he told an audience at an Environmental Protection Agency event two days ago. "If you don't take all that money, somebody else is going to take it. You might as well do it yourself."
But a broad coalition of religious leaders, labor unions, and local activists is pushing back—and the emerging resistance cuts across traditional political lines in ways that could reshape the 2026 midterm landscape.
A Growing Moral and Economic Critique
Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, warned three days ago on CNBC's "Squawk Box" that artificial intelligence poses "extraordinary harms" even as it offers benefits. He echoed concerns raised this year by Pope Leo XIV, who issued an influential encyclical warning that AI needed guardrails to protect humanity. "It is, as the Pope described in his recent encyclical, the construction of a Tower of Babel, the trust in a technology that reflects human hubris, that not only disconnects us from God but disconnects us from each other," Kim said. The evangelical leader specifically flagged AI's expanding role in healthcare, education, and warfare—domains where removing human judgment from critical decisions carries profound risks.
Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, the largest U.S. labor federation, delivered a sharper message last month at the union's convention. "For all of those candidates who are already out there starting to run for president in 2028, if you want to hold the highest office in the land, hear these words: Working people should come before algorithms." Shuler stopped short of calling for an AI ban, but her language reflected labor's core concern: that the technology enriches tech firms and their investors while leaving working Americans behind.
Sean O'Brien, head of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, echoed that sentiment at a recent event with Palantir CEO Alex Karp organized by the center-right group American Compass. "We've never had a seat at the table," O'Brien said. Karp, who grew up in a union household, acknowledged the underlying tension: "I think the biggest challenge to AI in this country is political unrest."
The Data Center Backlash Is Broader Than Expected
Trump's pitch centers on data center development, backed by commitments from companies like OpenAI and Oracle not to raise electricity prices. But opposition to local data center construction isn't confined to progressive strongholds. A June poll by the Yale Program on Climate Communication found that 53% of conservative Republicans oppose building data centers locally. Overall, 58% of registered voters share that opposition. Among liberal Democrats, the number climbs to 74%.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has already imposed a moratorium on data center construction in the state, but the resistance extends far beyond liberal enclaves. The coalition forming around AI skepticism represents a rare convergence: religious institutions, organized labor, and grassroots activists united by a shared concern that the technology's benefits flow upward while its disruptions land on working families.
The Political Calculation
Trump aligned himself with the companies backing the electricity price pledge even at the EPA event. But that alignment may not protect him politically. The evangelical movement has backed Trump since his first presidential run, yet Kim's language suggests the ground is shifting. His evangelical group doesn't endorse candidates and isn't launching an overt political campaign against Trump, but his message signals a warning: even traditionally Republican constituencies are questioning whether AI expansion serves their interests.
The stock market boom Trump regularly touts—the Nasdaq composite has recorded 20 record closes this year—hasn't translated into broad-based confidence. Too few Americans hold enough market stake for rising tech company share prices to overcome anxieties about job instability and wealth concentration. SpaceX's IPO last month offered a cautionary tale: shares are down 30% since its public debut, a reminder that tech sector gains don't automatically translate to gains for ordinary investors.
Why This Matters:
The coalition forming around AI skepticism represents something rare in contemporary American politics: a cross-ideological movement questioning whether a major technological shift serves the public interest. When religious leaders, labor unions, and local activists align on a single issue, elected officials typically pay attention. The Yale poll showing that 58% of all registered voters oppose local data center construction suggests this isn't a fringe concern—it's a mainstream anxiety about who bears the costs of technological transformation. With 101 days until the midterm election, politicians who ignore this groundswell do so at electoral risk. Conversely, those who champion stronger oversight of AI deployment and demand that workers have a voice in how the technology reshapes their industries may find powerful political support. The question isn't whether AI will expand—but whether that expansion happens on terms that protect workers, communities, and democratic decision-making, or on terms that concentrate its benefits among a narrow slice of tech investors.