Politics
• Analysis
Trump proposes data center 'dividends' for local communities two weeks before midterms
President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that companies building data centers should pay a 'dividend' to the communities hosting them, 14 days before the US midterm elections. He cited proposed facilities in Michigan, which he will visit on the weekend.
By Haut Monde Post
• October 21, 2026
• 3 Min Read
The dividend proposal
President Donald Trump has proposed on Truth Social that companies building energy-intensive data centers pay a "dividend" to the communities where the facilities are located. The post lands 14 days before the US midterm elections.
His post said the new and giant centers are mandated by him to make their own electricity, and to give or sell any excess back to the local community or grid. Trump pointed to several proposed warehouses in Michigan, a state he will head to on the weekend.
- •Companies building data centers would pay a dividend to host communities
- •New centers must make their own electricity and give or sell excess to the community or grid
- •Trump cited proposed warehouses in Michigan, which he visits on the weekend
Midterm timing and the rally trail
The proposal comes as Trump campaigns ahead of the midterm elections. On Tuesday night he attended a rally in North Carolina, where Democrat Roy Cooper leads Trump's pick Michael Whatley by a considerable margin in the Senate race polls. Trump dismissed the polls, saying pollsters "never poll us right" and predicted "some amazing results".
"never poll us right"
He had another rally scheduled in South Carolina on Wednesday.
Hubbard released after Witkoff-Putin meeting opens
Russia has freed retired schoolteacher Stephen Hubbard, the first American known to be convicted of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine. US envoy Steve Witkoff, in St Petersburg for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine, announced on Wednesday morning that Russian authorities had freed Hubbard.
Hubbard grew up in Michigan and had been living with his Ukrainian wife in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum. He was arrested when the Russians briefly took over the city at the start of the war in 2022. In 2024, a Russian court sentenced him to nearly seven years in prison. Hubbard denied being involved in any combat or military unit, saying the Russians just took him from his house.
Trump's response
Trump welcomed the release on Truth Social: "Welcome home Stephen, it's great to have you back." His statement said the release resulted from a direct request he made to Putin in a telephone call last week, and that Stephen is on his way back home and will soon be with his family. According to the statement, the United States was not required to give anything in return, no swap was necessary, and it blamed the Biden administration for failing to secure Hubbard earlier.
On Tuesday, Trump said he had spoken with Putin about Hubbard, saying "It's time to have Mr Hubbard back". Trump has another rally in South Carolina on Wednesday, and Witkoff remains in St Petersburg for talks with Putin on Ukraine.
