Trump's UAE AI Data Center Deal Sparks Controversy: Congressman Questions 'America First' Stance

Trump's data center deal with UAE draws criticism from Congressman

The Silicon Valley congressman said that America should focus more on deploying new technologies and creating more jobs in the United States before helping their allies in the Middle East. American tech giant OpenAI will help build a 5-gigawatt data center campus in Abu Dhabi - one that has the potential to end up as the largest AI facility on the planet. The agreement was announced on Thursday during President Trump's visit to the UAE. According to the Commerce Department, this deal will mark the largest data center deployment outside the United States, spanning across 10 square miles. While no companies were officially named in the Commerce Department's announcement, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang was spotted in one of Trump's UAE meetings. NVIDIA, however, has refused to speak on this matter. "In the UAE, American companies will operate the data centers and offer American-managed cloud services throughout the region," Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a statement. "By extending the world's leading American tech stack to an important strategic partner in the region, this agreement is a major milestone in achieving President Trump's vision for U.S. AI dominance."

Khanna criticizes Trump agreement to put AI data center in Dubai: What about 'America First'?

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on Sunday criticized the Trump administration's deal with the United Arab Emirates to build a massive artificial intelligence (AI) data center in Dubai, suggesting the president should have sought to build the hub on American soil. In an interview on ABC News's "This Week," the Silicon Valley congressman questioned whether the UAE deal aligns with the president's "America First" philosophy. "I don't like the fact that the biggest A.I. center, research center, is going to be in Dubai," Khanna said, when asked about the president's first trip to the region. "I mean, what happened to 'America First?'" he continued. "Why don't we put that center in Pennsylvania or in Ohio? Especially Western Pennsylvania, that's a place that's looking to get massive data centers, and that would create a lot of jobs." "Now, I'm all for collaboration, selling more into our allies in the Middle East, but we should be focused on putting the new technology jobs in the United States," Khanna added. The AI campus, unveiled during Trump's visit to the UAE, will have 5 gigawatts of capacity and will eventually stretch across 10 square miles, the Commerce Department announced Thursday. The data center at Qasr Al Watan will serve as a regional platform for U.S. hyperscalers, which are technology companies that provide cloud computing and data management services. These companies will be able to offer low-latency services to nearly half of the global population resigning within 2,000 miles of the UAE, the Commerce Department. "In the UAE, American companies will operate the data centers and offer American-managed cloud services throughout the region," Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a statement Thursday. "By extending the world's leading American tech stack to an important strategic partner in the region, this agreement is a major milestone in achieving President Trump's vision for U.S. AI dominance."