WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that companies building data centres should pay a "dividend" to the communities where they are sited if they want to make the developments popular.

"I have watched the process closely, and data centres that were highly unpopular in a certain area, have become extremely popular when a financial deal is struck," Trump said in a Truth Social post.

Data centres fuelling the rise of AI have become a political flashpoint in communities across the country given the high quantities of water and power they require, with opposition uniting voters across ideological lines.

The Trump administration, which has prioritised rapid AI development to compete with China, has also noted the shifting voter sentiment.