In Touting $3.3 Billion Data Center, Biden Seeks to Draw Sharp Comparison to Trump

President Joe Biden appeared in Racine, Wisconsin, to share the news that Microsoft is investing $3.3 billion to build a new artificial intelligence (AI) data center in Racine on the same land that was cleared for a Foxconn manufacturing facility six years ago.

The new facility, according to the White House, will create 2,300 union construction jobs, as well as 2,000 well-paying permanent jobs that will feature comprehensive benefits such as paid family leave and “growth pathways.”

During a speech in Wisconsin, President Biden told his supporters that since he took office, his administration has added 178,000 jobs in the state and nearly 4,000 jobs in Racine.

The White House touted this deal as part of the Biden administration’s “Investing in America” agenda, which the president said is “fueling a historic boom in rebuilding our roads and bridges, developing and deploying clean energy, revitalizing American manufacturing, and so much more.”

Microsoft’s deal also represents the latest example of “private-sector optimism,” according to the president

“We’ve created $866 billion in private-sector investment nationwide—almost a trillion dollars—historic amounts in such a short time, and that’s literally creating hundreds of thousands of jobs, building new semiconductor factories, electric vehicles, and battery factories, and so much more here—all here in America,” he said.

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President Biden also compared his administration’s record to that of former President Donald Trump. Specifically, President Biden highlighted that the Microsoft data center will go on the same spot that was cleared for what was supposed to be a $10 billion investment from Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn during the Trump administration.

The massive manufacturing complex, set to create 13,000 jobs, never came to fruition.

“One hundred homes were bulldozed,” President Biden said. “They wasted hundreds of millions of dollars—your state and local tax dollars—to promise a project that never happened.

“Foxconn turned out to be just that: a con. Go figure.”

President Biden said 83,500 jobs left Wisconsin during President Trump’s term. He also called out Republican lawmakers in the Legislature for criticizing his “Investing in America agenda” despite “a lot of business leaders” supporting it.

The president also told Wisconsinites that Microsoft will partner with Gateway Technical Community College “to train and certify 200 students a year to fill high-demand, good-paying jobs in data and IT.” According to a White House statement, it will train 1,000 locals by 2030.

Microsoft will also provide high school training in nearby Mount Pleasant.

“It’s going to create 100,000 jobs over time,” President Biden said.

“Folks are getting trained in new high-paying, high-skilled jobs that don’t require a four-year college degree and don’t require you to leave home.

“You know, where I come from, that really matters.”

President Biden recently announced the creation of four new training hubs to train workers to replace all of the nation’s lead pipes within a decade; one of the hubs is in Milwaukee.

The president’s visit to Racine comes after leaders of his reelection campaign announced major plans to increase their focus on battleground states such as Wisconsin.

“We’re showing up in the communities every day and attempting to earn every vote,” said Quentin Fulks, principal deputy campaign manager for the Biden–Harris Campaign. “Donald Trump and his team are doing none of that. The general election is just starting to crystallize for voters across the country, and we’re taking advantage of the moment to meet them where they are.”