DATA CENTER DON = HYPERSCALE HULL

Trump dismisses community concerns as a “SICK conspiracy” while Hull refuses to pause hyperscale data centers 

ALBUQUERQUE - This week, Donald Trump had a message for communities asking hard questions about AI and hyperscale data centers: sit down and shut up. On Monday, Trump called the possibility that AI could threaten humanity a “HOAX” and said there is a “SICK conspiracy” against AI and data centers. Days earlier, he suggested public opposition might be a “China PR thing,” called data centers “the oil of the next 50 years,” and warned that communities that turn them away could become poor and lose jobs.

Gregg Hull is following the Trump playbook in New Mexico. Hull opposes a statewide moratorium on new data centers, peddling the lie that a moratorium would send the wrong signal to companies looking to invest. Hull wants to keep projects moving and hope for the best along the way, all while tech billionaires get richer and New Mexicans suffer. But when it comes to our water and our energy, New Mexicans need more than hope – they need a plan.

And Deb Haaland has a plan: listen to New Mexicans first. Haaland supports a moratorium on new data centers until New Mexico establishes clear rules, ensuring communities know how much water a project will use, where its electricity will come from, and how it will affect the state’s renewable-energy goals. Deb is focused on protecting every community from tech overreach, so no New Mexican has to watch as our precious resources are stripped away.

Addressing data center resource use is urgent. A researcher recently told state lawmakers that New Mexico data centers currently use just over 500 million gallons of water each year. That figure could rise to 23.6 billion gallons if all planned projects in the state are built, much of it indirectly to cool the centers.

“While Data Center Don calls community concerns a conspiracy, and Hyperscale Hull calls basic protections too burdensome, they are both telling New Mexicans to accept their empty promises, ask questions later, and allow data center developers to ruin our land,” said Democratic Party of New Mexico spokeswoman Mila Myles. “But Deb Haaland trusts our communities enough to listen first. She will support a moratorium on new data centers, hold AI companies accountable for their water and power use, protect families from higher bills, and make sure New Mexico writes the rules - not Donald Trump or a data center corporation.”

Even Trump’s own fans are panning his position on data centers, while the companies building advanced AI systems say guardrails are needed. In the last week, OpenAI called for mandatory national safety requirements, Anthropic’s CEO urged independent monitoring and industry-wide rules, and Microsoft proposed new safety limits. New Mexico can welcome innovation responsibly without handing corporations a blank check. Deb Haaland will listen to communities, demand transparency, and hold AI companies accountable before they put New Mexico’s water, power, and families at risk.