Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) joined President Donald Trump in alleging that Chinese bot farms are manipulating American public opinion against data centers to weaken US AI leadership.

Political Stakes

Lummis posted on X that the Chinese Communist Party is "working overtime" to undermine America's position. She cited an Axios report detailing X's Safety team findings of a bot farm comprising approximately 200,000 suspected accounts. Within this network, 200 accounts were identified as posting content designed to manipulate debates on US AI and energy policy.

Cruz expanded on these claims on his Verdict with Ted Cruz podcast and on X. He described the alleged campaign as an effort to "deliberately" manipulate Americans into opposing data centers. "China’s objective isn’t complicated," Cruz said. "They want America to shut down every data center so we instead have to rely on Chinese data centers, Chinese AI, and the Chinese economy." He warned that online conversations appearing spontaneous could be coordinated efforts.

Trump escalated his advocacy on Truth Social, warning communities that reject these facilities risk becoming "backwards and poor." He contrasted this with areas that embrace them, which he claimed will become "successful and rich" with lower taxes and abundant jobs. Trump added, "if we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame."

The stance drew mixed reactions. Former Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene mocked Trump's position, saying, "Good luck winning the midterms now." Conversely, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) noted that Americans opposing data centers "have every right to be concerned."

Public Sentiment

Polling data indicates significant public resistance to the infrastructure expansion. A University of Pennsylvania survey conducted earlier this month found that 61% of Americans now oppose new data centers in their area. This figure represents a sharp increase from 49% just four months prior.

A separate YouGov poll revealed that only 24% of Americans view data center construction as beneficial for the country, while 47% consider it harmful. Furthermore, 62% of respondents believe a new facility in their community would raise electricity bills.

Energy and Market Context

The U.S. surpassed China in new gas-fired power construction as AI data centers drove demand. Gas capacity under development had reached 378GW, potentially increasing power-sector emissions by up to 20% if completed. Global Energy Monitor warned the expansion could lock in pollution and volatile fuel costs.

Meanwhile, BNP Paribas warned that the Trump administration’s effort to remove China from the U.S. AI supply chain could make AI infrastructure more costly and difficult to build. This may affect companies such as Broadcom Inc., Marvell Technology Inc., Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd., Nvidia Corp., and Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

Earlier, Elon Musk called China "by far" the strongest AI competitor, reviving his 2011 warning that Beijing would become a major rival to Space Exploration Technologies Corp. in rocket technology.

What the Numbers Show

The divergence between political urgency and public sentiment is stark. While Trump, Lummis, and Cruz frame data center adoption as critical for national security and economic prosperity, a majority of Americans (61%) oppose local development. This opposition is driven largely by economic anxiety, with nearly two-thirds (62%) fearing higher utility costs rather than abstract geopolitical concerns. The political narrative attributes this opposition to foreign interference, while polling suggests domestic cost concerns remain the primary driver.

US Treasury Secretary Bessent told Russian Finance Minister Siluanov that the US will not provide economic relief to Russia until the Ukraine war ends, according to a source familiar with the meeting.

Key details of the exchange

The communication between the two officials represents a direct statement of the US position on economic relief, linking any such assistance explicitly to the resolution of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The disclosure came from a source with knowledge of the meeting, rather than an official public statement from either government.