President Donald Trump made an aggressive pitch for artificial intelligence data centers two days ago, telling governors and local officials they can't afford to leave the economic opportunity on the table. "You can't fight it. You have to go with it," Trump said Thursday at an Environmental Protection Agency event. "If you don't take all that money, somebody else is going to take it. You might as well do it yourself."
But a striking political problem is emerging. Religious leaders, labor unions, and local activists are forming an unusual coalition to demand stronger government oversight and regulation of AI—and they're reaching voters Trump can't easily ignore.
The Emerging Opposition
Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, praised Pope Leo XIV's encyclical warning that AI needed guardrails to protect humanity. Speaking on CNBC's "Squawk Box" three days ago, Kim articulated concerns that cut across traditional political lines. "There are positive benefits, but there are also extraordinary harms," he said. Kim warned that AI's expanding role in healthcare, education, and warfare risks removing human judgment from the most consequential decisions. He described the rush toward AI as "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."
The National Association of Evangelicals doesn't endorse candidates, but Kim's message signals that ground is shifting even among voters who've backed Trump since his first presidential run.
Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, the largest U.S. labor federation, was blunter. Speaking at the union's convention last month, she issued a direct warning to 2028 presidential candidates: "Working people should come before algorithms." Shuler doesn't claim to be anti-AI, but she's demanding the technology benefit workers and their families, not just tech firms and investors.
Sean O'Brien, head of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters—who spoke at the Republican National Convention two years ago—struck a similar note at a recent event organized by the center-right American Compass group. "We've never had a seat at the table," O'Brien said. Even Palantir CEO Alex Karp, who grew up in a union household, acknowledged the stakes. "I think the biggest challenge to AI in this country is political unrest," Karp said.
The Data Center Backlash
Trump's pledge not to raise electricity prices—extracted from data center developers and utilities—appears designed to defuse local opposition. But the resistance to data center construction is far broader and deeper than partisan lines suggest.
New York's Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul moved first with a moratorium on building data centers. Yet the issue isn't polarized along familiar party divides. A June poll by the Yale Program on Climate Communication found that 53% of conservative Republicans oppose building data centers locally. Fifty-eight percent of registered voters overall share that opposition. Even 74% of liberal Democrats oppose local data center construction.
The coalition demanding a slowdown on AI expansion—spanning religious conservatives, organized labor, and grassroots activists—represents a powerful political force. Politicians who listen will find substantial support. Those who don't face an Election Day in November, which is 101 days away.
Market Skepticism
Trump can tout the stock market's gains this year. The Nasdaq composite has posted 20 record closes. But that strength masks a deeper problem: too few Americans have enough stake in equity markets for rising tech stock prices to overcome their anxiety about job instability and wealth concentration.
SpaceX's recent IPO illustrates the disconnect. Early investors saw tremendous gains. But regular investors who bought shares last month are down 30%.
Why This Matters:
Trump's AI data center strategy assumes local opposition can be managed through price pledges and economic promises. But the emerging coalition opposing rapid AI expansion includes constituencies he's relied on—evangelical voters, union workers, and Republican voters concerned about local impacts. The Yale poll showing 53% of conservative Republicans opposing local data centers suggests this isn't a fringe concern but a mainstream political vulnerability. When religious leaders, labor unions, and local activists align on slowing technological change, they create pressure that neither price pledges nor market enthusiasm easily overcomes. The next 101 days will test whether Trump can maintain support among voters increasingly worried that AI benefits concentrate wealth while disrupting livelihoods.