WASHINGTON — The uproar against data centers also includes Make America Great Again activists, which could become an issue for Republicans during the upcoming elections.

A group of Make America Healthy Again activists signed a joint letter asking President Donald Trump on Friday to “reject” coal-powered data centers.

In the letter, the 199 activists suggested that the U.S. can be a world leader in artificial intelligence “without asking children to carry more mercury in their bodies, more soot in their lungs, more heavy metals in their soil and food, or more contamination in their water.”

The activists asked Trump to “require transparent review of data-center siting and power sourcing.” The letter comes as Republican candidates face an electorate with concerns about data centers.

“I think we should be eliminating these sweetheart tax deals that are giving our money away to these giant data center companies,” James Talrico, a Democratic candidate in Texas, told CNN.

On Wednesday, Trump said the data-center industry just needed “a little help” with public relations.

“If I were a governor or mayor, I would want that plant in my community ... and if you don’t take it, you’re going to be left behind because there are plenty of places that want it,” Trump said.

Last year, Trump signed an executive order showing his support of “America’s beautiful clean coal industry. In January, Trump declared a national energy emergency. In June, his administration announced a commitment to “reinvigorating” the industry.

In May, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Florida Senate Bill 484 into state law to stop public utilities from shifting the cost of data centers onto residential and small business customers. The law went into effect in July.

Trump asked electricity companies to sign a voluntary pledge to protect consumers from the cost of data centers. The White House reported that at least 55 utilities and 27 data center developers joined the pledge.

Texas is pausing the approval of new data centers. New York is introducing a one-year moratorium. Former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers recently called for a one-year moratorium in Michigan.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democratic presidential hopeful, signed an executive order with several new regulations.

“If a local community doesn’t approve a project, the state won’t approve it either,” Shapiro said.

The Make America Great Again’s MAHA activists also sent copies of the letter to Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, and Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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