Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who spent the last two years selling his state as the nerve center of America's AI buildout, used a Sunday national television appearance to torch the very industry he courted — accusing data center developers of steamrolling local communities and bringing the current wave of political backlash entirely on themselves.

"They basically dug their own grave for the problem that's been caused for them," Abbott told ABC News' "This Week" on Sunday. "And that's why they got the backlash they deserve." The Republican governor said developers had been allowed to "pop up in places that nobody ever heard of before" without first winning over the neighbors who'd be living next to the massive, power-hungry facilities.

"Gaining the support of people in local communities is essential. Because they did not do that, that's why I am now coming in as governor." — Gov. Greg Abbott

A Sharp Reversal

The comments mark a stark turn for a governor who once branded Texas the "epicenter of AI development" and stood beside Google as it announced a $40 billion investment in the state. Texas now trails only Virginia in operational data centers, with roughly 335 already running and at least 248 more in the pipeline, according to the Washington Examiner.

Earlier this month Abbott froze new approvals for facilities seeking to connect to the state's power grid, ordering an audit of proposed sites before any more get greenlit. His office says the crackdown was overdue: fewer than 10 percent of existing Texas data centers had even complied with the state's basic reporting requirements on power and water use, while grid operator ERCOT is tracking a more than 500 percent surge in projected peak electricity demand tied to the buildout, per Axios. Under the new rules, future projects must show local community buy-in and prove they won't spike ratepayers' electric bills or drain regional water supplies before construction can proceed.

Public opinion has moved fast in the same direction. Axios cited an Emerson College poll from July showing 63 percent of respondents opposed data centers in their community — up 21 points from December — while a separate June survey found Americans trust nuclear plants over data centers by a wide margin.

The reversal has not gone over well at the White House. President Trump has publicly called Abbott's pause "a mistake," arguing that communities embracing data centers stand to see lower taxes and rising property values, and warning that turning away the industry could cost Texas an opportunity "bigger than oil," according to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. Abbott's office has pushed back, standing by the audit as necessary given the industry's own compliance failures.

The dust-up puts two of the party's most prominent figures on opposite sides of one of the fastest-moving fights in American politics, as at least eight states now weigh restrictions on the AI construction boom and New York has already enacted the nation's first statewide moratorium.

Texas regulators are expected to continue their site-by-site audit in the coming weeks, with no firm date yet for when new approvals might resume. Whether Abbott's tougher line survives sustained pressure from the White House and the industry is likely to become a defining test of GOP unity on AI policy heading into the fall.