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President Donald Trump is urging data center companies to strike financial agreements with local communities as public resistance threatens the costly expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure. In a Truth Social post Wednesday, Trump called on operators to “MAKE DEALS” with communities and secure support for new facilities.

Trump said companies could improve public acceptance by paying communities, or individuals within those communities, a “dividend.” He argued that financial arrangements can reverse opposition in areas where large data centers have been unpopular.

“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.,” Trump wrote.

The president’s proposal comes as data center development becomes a hot button issue ahead of the November midterm elections. Opposition has been growing over the facilities’ environmental impact, while multiple states are considering moratoriums.

Nebius Chief Revenue Officer Marc Boroditsky told CNBC that the AI infrastructure company is “100% in principle” having discussions about investing in communities. He addressed Trump’s dividend suggestion during Nvidia’s GTC Berlin conference.

There could be “some sort of way where the rewards are actually funneled back to the community,” Boroditsky told CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal. He also pointed to tax revenue and the possibility of providing communities with more direct economic opportunities.

Boroditsky said dividends can take different forms, including investment in education, job development and broader economic development. “The concept that the president identified... it’s not crazy to consider something like that,” he said.

At the same time, data center stocks have faced pressure amid concerns about the sector’s financial health. Companies are increasingly turning to debt markets to finance deals as the AI infrastructure expansion becomes more expensive.

HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery advised investors to exercise discernment when evaluating the infrastructure supporting the technology. “One has to be selective,” Elhedery told CNBC’s Dan Murphy on Tuesday.

“You have to look at the quality of the tenancy agreements. You have to look at the pricing of these contracts. Not all of them are of that level of virtuosity that you can support strongly. Some of them may be more challenging,” Elhedery said.

Community concerns have focused on water usage, power consumption, electricity prices and the large amount of land some centers require. Access to electricity remains a major constraint as power grids in the U.S. and Europe face a flood of applications from large energy users.

“Energy is always a bottleneck, and trying to find powered land and areas that we can build large-scale AI factories is a big focus for us,” Crusoe CEO Chase Lochmiller told CNBC in Berlin. Crusoe is a compute infrastructure company.

Lochmiller said policy, permitting and cooperation with local communities are increasingly important to bringing projects online effectively. Those hurdles add another layer of complexity for companies already confronting high construction and electricity demands.

Trump, who has supported data centers, said he has been watching the industry “very closely” and reached a “very strong conclusion.” He called for new and large facilities to produce their own electricity while directing or selling excess power to local communities or the grid.

“New and large, in some cases gigantic, Data enters are mandated by me to make their own electricity, and give or sell any excess back to the local community, or grid, and therefore there is electric price increase. In fact, there could be a substantial decrease,” Trump wrote around 1.37 a.m. ET.

Some data centers can operate as flexible loads by adjusting electricity usage to help stabilize the grid. Hyperscalers have also reached agreements to help finance needed updates to local power grids, although some experts have warned that the AI expansion will ultimately raise electricity prices.

DISCLAIMER: GoldInvestors.news is not a registered investment, legal or tax advisor or broker/dealer. All investment/financial opinions expressed by GoldInvestors.news are from the personal research and experience of the owner of the site and are intended as educational material. Although best efforts are made to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date, occasionally unintended errors and misprints may occur.