Susan Del Percio (crisis communications expert and political analyst at MS NOW) joins host Ron Steslow to trace how a revolt against data centers opens larger questions into how the AI buildout is financed and who holds the risk. 

They begin with the politics of the backlash and the town by town opposition that has turned data centers into a bipartisan populist flashpoint. Then they look at the leaked Republican memo warning the backlash could cost the party a Senate seat in November. 

Next, they turn to the real constraint beneath the fight, energy, the race with China, and reporting that foreign actors are attempting to amplify the opposition. 

Then, they look at the federal debt and how Washington is betting that AI-led growth is the only survivable way out. 

In Politicology+, they break down the DNC’s newly approved 2028 presidential primary calendar and what it means for the factional power struggle within the party.

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