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Kevin O’Leary warns China is winning the AI race because U.S. states are slowing data center production

Kevin O’Leary warns China is winning the AI race because U.S. states are slowing data center production

As data center projects continue to get shut down across the country, “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary and other investors are warning that the facilities are needed to compete with China in the artificial intelligence race. Data centers are at the forefront of the continued development of AI, serving as the hardware for the large amount of electricity and infrastructure needed to improve response time and data storage. But opponents cite utility costs to local residents and environmental concerns in their efforts to block development of new centers. “If everybody talks about data centers, too much heat, too much noise, too much water, all that, that was 20 years ago,” O’Leary told Fox News Digital. “Today’s technology is completely different in terms of the heat profile, in terms the water profile, in terms how big these buildings have to be and where they have to be, because we’ve got air-cooled technology and obviously the chip technology’s advanced.” TRUMP SAYS EVERY AI PLANT BEING BUILT IN US WILL BE SELF-SUSTAINING WITH THEIR OWN ELECTRICITY O’Leary said China is focused on improving its power grid, which is needed in order to support the massive electricity demands of running a data center. He noted that data centers can function using varied energy sources. “Most of it is coming from burning nat[ural] gas, which is very clean now, with turbines,” he said. “Hopefully nuclear power one day, some solar, some battery, all of it together. I think the key is that they’re beating us because they’re getting more power sooner, and then they’re building these data centers to train their own AI. The country that has the best AI will have the best economy and the best defense, the best military, and win all the wars because it’s going robotically.” REPORT: CHINESE PROPAGANDA, SINGHAM NETWORK, FOREIGN DARK MONEY LINKED TO CAMPAIGNS AGAINST DATA CENTERS President Donald Trump has pushed hard for new data center production. Last July, he signed an executive order titled “Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure” which directed agencies to reduce the regulatory burdens that have been slowing data center development. Earlier this week, Fox News Digital obtained a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche from Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., calling for federal investigators to examine whether foreign actors are attempting to shape U.S. public opinion and policy against data centers and AI development as Washington and Beijing compete for dominance in artificial intelligence. “Recent reports show that Communist China is attempting to influence our policy and public opinion on data centers. The reason is obvious: They want to kneecap our processing power to win the AI race,” Cotton told Fox News Digital. SEN BERNIE SANDERS: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS COMING FOR THE WORKING CLASS. WE MUST FIGHT BACK Despite the push to put U.S. production ahead of Beijing, some liberals in Congress have been reluctant to get on board with data center development. In March, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., introduced the Intelligence (AI) Data Center Moratorium Act. “Congress has a moral obligation to stand with the American people and stop the expansion of these data centers until we have a framework to adequately address the existential harm AI poses to our society,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement about the legislation. “We must choose humanity over profit.” But some experts tie data center production to economic gains, saying that the jobs created from the facilities benefit communities and local economies. STEVE FORBES: THE AI COLD WAR HAS BEGUN AND AMERICA CANNOT AFFORD TO LOSE “In the first six months Trump was in office, over 90% of all economic growth came from new computer and AI investment, and much of it came from data centers,” Judge Glock, director of research and a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, told Fox News Digital. “Without continued growth in data centers, we would have higher unemployment and lower incomes. Data centers also bring big gains to local communities.” Leading voices in AI also noted China’s ability to construct data centers at a much faster rate than the U.S. Last November, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the communist country’s building capabilities far exceed that of the U.S. “If you want to build a data center here in the United States, from breaking ground to standing up an AI supercomputer is probably about three years… they can build a hospital in a weekend.” O’Leary said the competition with China should alarm Americans, adding that if the U.S. falls too far behind, Beijing could gain the ability to devastate the U.S. economy and national security. While production capabilities are in question, widespread data shows that the U.S. currently has a significantly higher number of functional data centers already built compared to the number reported in China. According to Statista, the U.S. has more than 4,000 facilities as of April, while China has just over 300 — fewer than the United Kingdom and Germany. Still, O’Leary warned that China could outpace the U.S. over the long term if the U.S. slows development.

WATCH: Would-be second-term President Biden left searching for family on stage after Obama Center opening

WATCH: Would-be second-term President Biden left searching for family on stage after Obama Center opening

Former President Joe Biden was caught in an awkward moment when he drifted back toward the stage as the dedication ceremony for President Barack Obama’s presidential library wrapped up Thursday. Video shows Biden pulling down his sunglasses and peering into the crowd as his wife, Jill Biden, and Obama exited the stage, leaving him behind. At one moment, Biden shouted, “where’s my granddaughter?’” A person familiar with the situation told Fox News Digital that Biden was searching for his granddaughter, who was sitting in the audience. OBAMA LEADING BIDEN OFF STAGE BY THE HAND ‘REALLY PISSED ME OFF,’ HUNTER BIDEN SEETHES The moment came at the conclusion of a star-studded event celebrating the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, which brought together Obama, Biden, Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Vice President Kamala Harris and a host of entertainers and political figures. The incident also follows renewed scrutiny of Biden’s health and his initial decision to seek a second term in 2024. During an appearance at New York’s 92nd Street Y this week, Hillary Clinton called Biden’s reelection bid a “terrible mistake,” arguing that Democrats may have been better positioned had there been a competitive primary process before the 2024 election. HILLARY CLINTON HAMMERS JOE BIDEN FOR 2024 REELECTION BID DESPITE SUPPORTING CAMPAIGN: ‘TERRIBLE MISTAKE’ “Very sadly, I believe whoever emerged from that contest, whether it was the vice president or a governor or a senator or anybody else, would have beaten Donald Trump,” Clinton said. “So I think it was a terrible miscalculation on the part of President Biden.” Biden faced major pressure from Democratic Party leadership to drop out of the presidential race following his disastrous debate performance against Trump. Despite opinion pieces and public calls for him to exit the race, Biden remained in the contest for more than three weeks after the debate. Meanwhile, former first lady Jill Biden recently wrote that she feared her husband may have been suffering a stroke following his widely criticized debate performance against then-candidate Donald Trump in June 2024, and suggested he should not have continued his re-election campaign. The former president is also locked in a legal battle with the Justice Department over the release of audio recordings from his interviews with former Special Counsel Robert Hur, whose investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents fueled additional questions about his age and memory. In those audio recordings, Hur described then sitting president Biden as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” a characterization that became a flashpoint in the debate over Biden’s mental fitness for the job. The 83-year-old former president is currently battling Stage 4 prostate cancer that has metastasized to his bones.

Trump-Meloni spat grows over claim Italian PM ‘begged’ for photo: ‘astonished’

Trump-Meloni spat grows over claim Italian PM ‘begged’ for photo: ‘astonished’

A simmering rift between President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni burst into the open Friday after the G7 summit, exposing growing tensions between two leaders whose close political alliance had long positioned Meloni among Trump’s closest allies on the world stage. “Donald Trump’s statements are completely made up. I am frankly astonished. I don’t ‌know why ⁠the president of the United States behaves like this towards his allies: it is not the first time, moreover,” Meloni said Friday, according to Reuters. Trump told an Italian news outlet that Meloni “begged” him to take a photo with her during the G7 earlier this week, which sparked strong rebuke from the prime minister and Italian diplomats. Before the recent strain over Iran, Meloni was widely viewed as one of Trump’s strongest allies on the world stage, even attending his 2025 presidential inauguration as the only European leader present. “She wanted a picture with me so ​badly. I wouldn’t have taken it, but I felt sorry for her,” Trump said to La7 TV channel. “She’s probably happy I talked to her. I didn’t have to talk to her.” WHO IS GIORGIA MELONI? TRUMP HOSTS ITALIAN PM AT MAR-A-LAGO Meloni fired back: “I can only say it is disappointing that he does not show the same determination with the enemies of the West and of the United States, whose leaders he instead treats with far greater indulgence.” “There is one thing he should remember: neither I nor Italy ever beg,” she added. Representatives from the prime minister’s office told Fox News Digital they have no comment at the moment. Fox News Digital also reached out to the White House. RUBIO MEETS MELONI AS TRUMP–POPE CLASH ESCALATES US STRAINS WITH KEY EUROPEAN ALLY There have been looming tensions between the two leaders after Meloni recently distanced herself from the U.S. amid mounting domestic and political pressure over the widening Middle East conflict. Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani abruptly canceled his U.S. visit Friday following Trump’s remarks over the photo.  “The serious and offensive words of President Trump towards Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offend all of Italy. For this reason, I have decided to cancel my visit to the United States scheduled for the next 21 and 22 June,” Tajani wrote on X. TRUMP TROOP CUTS IN EUROPE COULD BE BLOCKED BY CONGRESS — HERE’S HOW HE MIGHT GET AROUND IT Tajani was set to attend the Italy–U.S. Business, Investment, Science and Innovation Forum in Miami, Florida. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to deliver remarks at the conference on Monday. Rubio recently traveled to Italy last month to smooth over previous tensions with Meloni and Pope Leo XIV. Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department for comment. As Trump urged world leaders to take a more active role in the Iran conflict, Meloni notably stayed on the sidelines, underscoring an emerging rift between the longtime allies. Meloni has previously said she would not support any effort to reduce the U.S. military presence in Italy, drawing a contrast with Trump’s broader push to reposition American forces in Europe. Italy remains a key U.S. security hub in Europe, hosting nearly 13,000 active-duty American troops across six bases as of the end of 2025. Fox News Digital’s Courtney Walsh and Reuters contributed to this report.