Trump's AI Data Center Push Fractures Republican Unity as Local Backlash Reshapes 2026 Midterms

President Trump's aggressive push for rapid AI data center expansion is backfiring spectacularly within his own party, as Republican candidates distance themselves from his position and grassroots opposition unites communities across the political spectrum. The conflict has crystallized around Project Hazelnut, a $165 million AI data center planned by NorthPoint Development and Amazon in rural Pennsylvania, where about 30 property owners face eminent domain threats for a high-voltage power line to feed the facility's 1,300-acre footprint in Hazle Township and Sugarloaf Township.