THERE WERE LOTS of champagne corks popping during US President Donald Trump and Chinese Prime Minister Xi Jinping’s asymmetric bromance last week.

But where’s the beef?

Trump’s fawning over Xi, proudly showing him his new helicopter pad and inviting him for a sneak preview of his new ballroom was excruciating to watch. Never mind the palpitations at the Pentagon, following his US Ambassador David Perdue’s claim that Trump offered to sell US military hardware to China.

Xi, inscrutable and unyielding, offered nothing in return. No commitment to stop backing Iran, no commitment to buy more US goods and no agreement on AI that would prevent a latter-day equivalent of a nuclear arms race.

All Trump got was two pandas.

He may be already drooling at the prospect of his next sleepover with Xi, once those pesky November midterm elections are out of the way, but right now Trump is in trouble.

And so are his AI ambitions.

So far this year, Google, Microsoft, Meta, Oracle, xAI, OpenAI and Amazon have spent more than $700 billion on AI infrastructure. America has almost 5,000 operational data centres with as many again planned or under construction.

But rapid proliferation of data centres has come to a shuddering halt over in a dozen states over the past several weeks, as Republican and Democratic candidates respond to a massive backlash which has turned into a nationwide NIMBY and looming election flashpoint.

More than 70% of Americans now oppose the building of data centres of any size in or near their communities. Urban, suburban and rural Americans of all political hues have done a 180-degree volte-face on the issue.

Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Data centres have become a lightning rod for wide-ranging voter discontent. Republican candidates in red states, including strongholds like Texas and Iowa, are facing down seething constituents who have seen little benefit stemming from the glut of data centres in their states. The promised economic boom failed to materialise. Now fury over soaring electricity bills has cemented an already deep distrust for AI overlords like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Sam Altman.

Trump’s tech Titanic?

These avatars of AI prosperity with their super yachts, their petty feuds, and their fascist-adjacent musings – have long since given America the collective ick. Last week, prospective voters witnessed their AI overlords clinking champagne glasses with Trump and Xi in a Grand Guignol tableau of corruption and greed.

Big tech’s ‘magnificent seven’ also control almost all of America’s social and online media platforms and an increasing swathe of its legacy media. Despite their ability to hone the messaging around AI, a mixture of arrogance and indifference has tarnished the brand. What was billed as the next industrial wave, one that would kickstart a new era of American prosperity, is triggering a pitchfork revolution.

Trump arrives with Xi Jinping and first lady Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan during a........

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