- President Trump says data center developers should offer a ‘dividend’ to get local community approval for campuses
- Nebius CRO says the company is “100% in principle” considering some form of local investment
- Paying local residents to approve a local data resident didn’t go so well in Hazle, Pennsylvania
President Trump has told data center companies that one way to get local residents to support new developments is to “make deals” with local residents.
Trump suggested offering communities a “dividend,” adding, “I have watched the process closely, and Data Centers that were highly unpopular in a certain area, have become extremely popular when a financial deal is struck.”
“MAKE DEALS, and get them built!!! GREAT FOR THE U.S.A.,” the President wrote on Truth Social. But as one town has already demonstrated, these payments are viewed as a bribe that threaten to turn communities against each other.
Dividend or bribe?
As the November 2026 midterm elections draw closer, data centers have become a make-or-break topic for some candidates. Data center developers and AI companies have been channeling millions of dollars into political action committees in an effort to get a more favorable view of data centers.
Multiple states are considering enacting moratoriums on AI data center development, which if approved could cost developers and AI companies billions in lost investment. Environmental concerns and issues relating to noise and light pollution are high on the list for residents protesting against local developments.
NorthPoint Development is currently seeking to build an AI data center in Hazle, Pennsylvania, and offered each household $10,000 in an attempt to convince residents to get on board with having the campus approved. But the residents did not react as planned, calling the payment a bribe and turning it down over fears it could split the community in two – those who live near the campus and declined and those who live further away and took the payment.
When questioned by Trump’s proposal, Marc Boroditsky, CRO of Nebius told CNBC that the company is “100% in principle” having discussions about potential investments in local communities.
“We see it today in terms of the tax revenue that are arriving. I could see something like a benefit of some sort that’s more direct economic opportunity for the community as well,” Boroditsky said. “A dividend is being paid in different forms — investing in education, job development, overall economic development. The concept that the president identified… it’s not crazy to consider something like that”
