\n It might seem politically ill-advised, less than two months before the midterm elections, to so forcefully stake out a position that\u2019s out of step with the majority of Americans, who overwhelmingly oppose<\/a> data centers being built near them and remain suspicious <\/a>of AI\u2019s use cases. But Trump\u2019s pedal-to-the-metal approach suggests he may be more concerned about a bigger question: What happens to the US economy if the AI fever breaks on his watch?\n <\/p>\n \n There are a lot of ways to slice the metrics on just how dependent the US economy has become on AI (and AI-adjacent) spending. ING estimates tech investments dominated by AI and data centers account for a third<\/a> of year-over-year economic growth in 2026. Goldman Sachs\u2019 chief equity strategist recently told CNBC that AI investment is driving half of all the profit growth in the S&P 500.\n <\/p>\n \n Economists are careful to note how there\u2019s always nuance in these calculations. But one thing is hard to dispute: Absent the AI frenzy, the economy would be in a much weaker position \u2014 possibly even in a recession.\n <\/p>\n \n AI bulls believe it is the defining technology of our time, and that the stratospheric share prices it\u2019s creating are just one of its many benefits. With widespread adoption in the future, the thinking goes, AI will turbocharge productivity the way the internet did at the turn of the century.\n <\/p>\n \n But in the near future, any slowdown in spending risks undoing those stock valuations, which would in turn ding household wealth and diminish corporate investment.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIf the music stops, and if it stops in a big, big way, it\u2019s likely that we\u2019re going to end up in stagnation or outright contraction over a period of at least a year,\u201d Olu Sonola, US head of economic research at Fitch Ratings, told CNN.\n <\/p>\n \n The icing on the cake, said Sonola, is the wealth effect. People with stock portfolios exposed to AI are feeling flush<\/a>, and they\u2019re spending lavishly \u2014 further helping prop up America\u2019s consumer-centric economy.\n <\/p>\n \n Whatever people\u2019s personal beliefs about the technology, the money going into it is keeping the world\u2019s biggest economy humming. If that money train stalls, the effects won\u2019t be contained to tech investors on Wall Street.\n <\/p>\n ![\"Protesters](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/gettyimages-2295179644.jpg\")
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