Breaking News from Pod Save America - Trump Candidates Face Major Backlash Over Key Midterm Issue

Episode Date: August 24, 2026

Dan Pfeiffer and Brian Tyler Cohen break down ads exposing Republican hypocrisy on data centers, AI, and mass surveillance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is a bald eagle peeing on data centers. It's a bad sign for data centers. No regular people are advocating for mass surveillance in their own communities. Welcome to Political Questions React. I'm Dan Pfeiffer. Joining me today is a man who needs no introduction to the Crooked Universe. Brian Tyler Cohen. Brian, how are you? Dan, I'm doing all right.

Excited to do this thing. Okay, so today we're going to focus on what I think is the sleeper issue for the midterms. Data centers. It is popping up in every race. It's been a huge issue in primaries. It is becoming a signature division between the Trump administration and Trump Republicans and the rest of the country. And if you are fortunate or unfortunate on how you think about it to watch television in a state with a big race this year, you're seeing a lot of data center ads. Let's start with an ad from Gina, Inahosa, who's a Democrat running for governor in Texas.

Why is my electric bill going up? Absolutely. I'm happy to help. Data center production and energy use in Texas is skyrocketing to meet AI. needs. For your future. What? Who authorized that? Greg Abbott. Abbott took 20 million in campaign donations from data center executives and companies, and he gave them billions in tax breaks.

For your future. My future? How does this help me? Absolutely. Absolutely. Great question. Happy to help. What do you think of this spot, Brian? So I think that it's really effective. There's a few reasons why. First and foremost, it doesn't use the politician's own words. Like, by, By virtue of using Google, it kind of takes it into an environment that I think everybody is used to for getting their information and it doesn't cloud it with, okay, this is one politician

talking shit on another politician. It takes it out of that. Like, everybody uses Google to find their information for this stuff. So by putting the narrator in that frame, it kind of takes the political element out of these things. Yeah, the context here is interesting. Abbott was very, very pro-data center. He was encouraging them to come to a state.

He has tried to change his position on that. But what Hinojosa has zoned in on here is one of the main reasons that people hate data centers, and it is jacking up their utility prices. Electric bills are up. And the places where we see the strongest opposition to data centers are places like Texas, also Maine, that have really high utility bills. And so there is a big battle for in this race, which is shockingly close. The polls have Hinoza within a couple points, which has been a long time since the Democrat

has been within a couple points for Texas governor. we haven't had a Democratic governor of Texas in this century, which is a sad thing to say. And so they're battling over this. And so in some cases, and we'll see some ads about this. It's about the question of a moratorium and what data centers are coming in Texas because Abbott has changed his position. It is about the costs borne by you to the data centers that are already in the state, which Abbott has taken responsibility for and actually taken a ton of credit for.

And there's all kinds of video of him getting, you know, sort of encouraging these data centers that come in. you know, praising them, talking about what a huge advantage is to Texas. And he's tried to change his position. Now she's holding him accountable for the consequences of that decision. Well, I think it's going to be more difficult, too, because especially in these deep red states where there is entrenched Republican control, there's this sense of impunity that these people can do whatever they want, regardless of what the voters want them to do because their power is so entrenched. And I think that we're seeing now, you know, look, I doubt that Greg Abbott thought that he was going have an actual contender that he was going to have to go up against for his position.

But now we're seeing that there is one. And now he has to be held accountable for all the positions that he thought he was going to be able to escape by with. And so this is like the interesting byproduct of having strong Democratic nominees, whether you're talking about Gina Inahosa for governor, whether you're talking about James Tala Rico for the US Senate, you know, this is a real election. And now suddenly these positions that Republicans thought that they'd be able to to espouse with impunity are not going to be that.

easy to hold on to. If you like this video and you like Pod Save America, I promise you you'll love message box, which is my substack newsletter where I break down what's happening in politics, give you real analysis based on years of experience and data about what's happening in the midterms, and actually help you understand where you can have the greatest impact, what campaigns matter, where to give money, how you can volunteer. If you want to sign up and I hope you do, the link is in the description. If you sign up now, you can get 20% off for a year. In most cases, you have of Democrats going on the offense on data centers. However, in Wisconsin, one of the things that came out of that primary was Francesca Hong

and the governor's primary there was for a data center moratorium. David Crowley was for a more nuanced position. He wasn't for a moratorium per se, but he had a series of guardrails and requirements he needed for data centers. But that was an issue of division that was really hyped up in that primary. As soon as that primary ended with Crowley winning, Tom Tiffany, who is the election to nine MAG, a Republican nominee, went up with this. Meet Data Center David Crowley.

There's an opportunity for us to really become AI and a data hub not only for the entire country but for the entire globe. And he wants you to pay for it. Data Center David Crowley won't roll back data center tax incentives. Our lakes run dry. Family farms paved over. Why? Because Crowley's campaign is funded by the people building them. Data Center David Crowley.

Big Tech wins. Wisconsin PAY. This ad is striking because it's basically like the inverse of an ad that Sherrod Brown has been running against John Hustead in Ohio, where John Hustead is the pro data center person who's taking all the money from data center interest. But here we have it being levied against a Democrat. What do you think? So I think it is an effective ad. And David Crowley is going to have to come out and figure out how to get in front of this. But I think that there is an unintended consequence of this that's going to land in Tom Tiffany's lap, which is he shares it.

a very similar position to David Crowley. And he's also accepted money from people who oppose any AI moratoriums or data center moratoriums. And so there is, I think, some danger in grooming your audience to think that data centers and AI funding is disqualifying if you espouse that exact same position. Yeah, that's exactly right. And he is very, very supportive of Donald Trump, who literally wants to build a data center on every corner who can't stop talking about the benefits of data centers.

He is funded, I don't know what data center interest necessarily mean, but Tiffany has and will take a lot of money from big tech and companies that support it. The politics here in Wisconsin are interesting because, you know, there were, you know, this is a, there was bipartisan legislation to try to encourage data centers to come in because you have a bunch of rule areas who are in desperate need of an economic engine. And you have building trade unions who want, you know, who support data centers who want these jobs to come in. in. And so, I am for a moratorium. I think Kansas should be for a moratorium, but the argument for it has to be, we're for a moratorium so that the local communities start out in the strongest negotiating position possible, where they can then say, if you want to build the data center here, then you have to, A, pay for all your energy. You have to help our community in the following ways, right? You know, we're going to share in the profits. We're going to. We're going to.

to you're going to help fund infrastructure investments or clean water or whatever it is. But so there is this middle ground that Crowley was trying to, I think, in a very intellectually honest way, occupy, but has put him on the political defensive here. He is up with an ad that's his first out of the general election, which is sort of his bio intro ad, but in it among the other things he does, he talks about holding data centers accountable and holding big tech accountable. So he's beginning the process of pushing back on this. Do you think that the simplicity of the Republican ad is going to be a particular problem for him?

I mean, they're picking up the mantle that was left by Francesca Hong. And it was a pretty simple ad. I mean, you know, they used the, you know, the tried and true tactic of alliteration. But like, in that, this has been a recurring theme. What do you think is the best route for David Crowley to push back? Does he try and pin this on Tom Tiffany just as much as himself to try and. kind of neutralize the attack? Does he try and explain, you know, and possibly shoulder the risk of if you're explaining, you're losing? What's the best way for him to go here? My person is he should

adopt the moratorium. I think that's the simplest way to do it. Because ultimately, a moratorium under the framework that I just mentioned is not inconsistent with what I think his view is, which is there's a huge burden on these tech companies and these AI companies to meet in order to build these data centers and the decision has to be by the local community. A moratorium strengthens the hand of local community. And so just simply saying you're for that, which because I think it's not, he's not really changing his position. He's just changing the language to describe his position would help him in this place. And then he goes after Tiffany, to your point, for being full of it and, you know, and being basically lying, he for critical. And then the last thing,

I would pin Trump's data center AI policy on. Tiffany, which is very hard for Tiffany to deny or avoid or push back on without getting the ire of Trump. Right. And I think that's the most important point is whether it's for Tom Tiffany or any of these other MAGA Republican candidates, if you don't give Donald Trump 100% loyalty, 100% fealty, then he'll strike back at you. And so they have to choose between being put in the miserable position of entirely

hugging Donald Trump and thereby embodying every position, every own popular position that he espouses, or they can, uh, they can, uh, distanced himself from Trump, but then risk being on, you know, the receiving end of his ire. And that's not good for his base either, which he controls, you know, 30% of the electorate and they'll do whatever he says. So he really did put them in a miserable position here. And by virtue of giving them no latitude heading into the election, he really makes it difficult for them to win in environments where he's saddling them with his 33% approval rating. And then he adds on a position on data center since even more.

More and popular than Trump himself. Yeah. So, I would just say a lot. Pod Save America Breaking News is brought to you by ZipRecruiter. With everyday interactions becoming increasingly impersonal, someone going just one extra step can be huge. Like when my doctor takes the time to call me with test results instead of sending them electronically.

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how big a deal is this people really care about it, has it broken through to people into that. And I want to show this commercial from Liquid Death featuring one, none other than Jason Kelsey. AI data centers waste millions of gallons of water. That's why Liquid Death and Garage beer decided to team up. We want your pee to cool these data centers. We want your pee. please give us your pee let's pee on computers together

so what are you waiting for go ahead and have another garage beer or liquid dense sparkling energy then send your pee to the AI data center of your choice we even make it easy with these collectible sealable mugs so if you were sitting at an AI company or in the data center industry and you see Taylor Swift's brother-in-law peeing in a jar and then encouraging people to send their pee to the nearest data center.

You have to be somewhat concerned about the politics of this. Yeah, not great. Look, I think that it's abundantly clear by now that politics is downstream of culture. And so when we see ads like this with a huge cultural phenom like Jason Kelsey and an otherwise apolitical and pretty, you know, a brand that has cultural class. or cache, which is liquid death, both of them kind of shitting on the issue of data centers, it's clear. I think peeing on the issue of data centers. We're saying it.

Yes, yes, my bad. Number one, not number two. Yes. Then it's pretty clear where they stand on this thing. And so at this point, it really is a jump ball. But seeing stuff like this, if the Democrats don't jump on this and recognize that they can still own this cultural issue, I think it's political malpractice because we're already seeing which way the wind is blowing in a huge way. And look, that's also, you know, on the merits of the ad

itself, that ads got everything for earned media potential. I mean, it has every piece of the equation in order to go viral. And so obviously, you know, it's going to reach a far and wide audience. But, but yeah, I mean, I think that puts it on full display, like where the issue of data centers lies in, you know, in the minds of regular American people. Especially, look, this is a more manosphere-coded, right-coded space when you're talking about Jason Kelsey, when you're talking about liquid death. And so I think that, you know, if you're not taking advantage of this issue right now, you are just kind of dropping something that will be really important as we head to our 26 and 28. There is a bald eagle peeing on data centers. It's a bad sign for data centers. Okay, I want to end

with a issue that's not data centers, but I think might be the closest thing we have to the next It's data-centered American politics. It's Flock cameras. Here's a video put out by Abdulahayed, the Michigan Senate Democratic nominee. Hey, does it ever feel like you're in a cage? Kind of stuck? Being watched? Because you are.

There's been this mass proliferation of flock cameras, any and everywhere. Little cameras watching your every move to collect information about you without you even noticing. That's all been part of a regime that's been pushed by, well, this guy. Somebody must be doing something exactly, right? But who would be complaining? Somebody whose privacy was violated. You can't have your privacy violated if you don't know your privacy is violated, right? Who happens to be the guy I'm running against?

That's Mike Rogers, who wants to be Michigan's next U.S. Senator, not if I have anything to say about it. So if you believe, like me, that you shouldn't just be surveilled because you're driving along the street, then I hope I can earn your support. Because we've got to stand up to this mass surveillance apparatus that is being built behind closed doors and behind our back. What do you know about flock cameras and what do you think of this video?

So what I know about them is interesting because they're being positioned all across the country. They run 24 hours a day. They surveil 24 hours a day. They're used to catch criminals, but at the same time, they're faulty, and so people have been stopped and in some cases arrested. But the AI that the flock cameras use hasn't exactly caught the correct license plate, for example, And so they're causing a lot of issues. But overall, it's just this idea of general mass surveillance that's taking over this country. And I think that this is, as you said, an issue that's that's ripe for exploitation on the left,

especially because the American people have been primed to reject this kind of big government mass surveillance oversight that they've run against for so long. And now it's this administration that's presiding over a country where we're seeing this kind of stuff proliferate. And so it's an interesting dynamic where the country was already groomed to hate this kind of thing. And now their side is responsible for putting it in place. And it's not dissimilar to the Epstein files, where you had the right that was spending so much time denigrating the two-tiered justice system that now they can see the Trump administration is responsible for perpetuating. And so it's the left that has to pick up the mantle of saying, like, hey, we need some accountability. some justice as it relates to the Epstein files. So this is the same thing. You have an entire

electorate that's been groomed to despise this kind of thing that is now being proliferated by the very people who are leading those chance to condemn this stuff. I don't know this will ever be Data Center because Data Center is this giant, massive building being built in people's community is jacking up their electricity prices. But this is another example of big tech, big government elites coming in and keeping an eye on the American people. You know, one of the cardinal rules of politics is you want to find issues that unite your base and divide theirs. And this flat cameras fits right in that issue because Democrats do not want the Trump administration spying on them. And Republicans theoretically do not want big government spying on them.

And so there is division within the Republican Party over this issue. And so finding a way to talk about this, to drive those divisions, I think is very effective. So this is one of those issues I'm going to keep my eye on in the months and weeks to come. And I think maybe it'll be a big issue by election day, 2026, but I think it'll definitely be a big topic of discussion in 28 during the Democratic primary. Well, you know, it's already a viral issue because there are people that are traveling across the country and cutting the flock cameras down, and that's garnering huge views on digital platforms, on short form platforms, Instagram reels, on TikTok, on YouTube shorts, where people either give directions on how to do it, but they do it in tongue

in cheek, and they say, like, here's how not to cut down a flock camera, or it just shows people who are covered and cutting them down. And they've like become these, these, you know, quasi, like, heroes in their communities, these vigilante heroes in their communities because, yes, sure, it's vandalism. You're cutting this private property down.

But at the same time, there is nobody who's advocating, no regular people who are advocating for the proliferation of mass surveillance in their own communities. And so it's already created that viral attention that I think has made the vast majority of Americans clear where they stand on.

that issue. Well, I think that's a great place to end it. Brian, thanks as always for being on PlotQuest, With React, and we will talk to you soon. Dan, I appreciate it. Thanks for having me.