Election year duel: Microsoft and Biden versus Foxconn and Trump

President Joe Biden, Gov. Tony Evers, and a bevy of Democrats descended on Racine County this past week to celebrate Microsoft’s announcement that it would invest $3.3 billion in an artificial intelligence (AI) datacenter campus in Mount Pleasant — and to gloat that the facility is planned for land that Republicans once promised would be an economic Goliath powered by Foxconn.

According to the governor’s office, the project is expected to bring 2,000 union construction jobs to the area by the end of the year, as well as provide long-term employment opportunities over the next several years. Microsoft also announced the establishment of a long-term partnership to advance the state’s global leadership in AI and advanced manufacturing.

Specifically, the tech titan will build an AI Co-Innovation Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and form a partnership with Gateway Technical College to develop a “Datacenter Academy” that will train 1,000 people by 2030, the White House stated.

“This is a watershed moment for Wisconsin and a critical part of our work to build a 21st-century workforce and economy in the Badger state,” Evers said. “Microsoft is a blue-chip corporation that recognizes the strength of Wisconsin’s workers, infrastructure, economy, and our quality of life. Microsoft has chosen to locate and invest here because they know the future is here in Wisconsin.”

Evers said the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) would provide a $500,000 grant to support capital improvements necessary for the success of the Co-Innovation Lab at UW-Milwaukee. WEDC is also providing a $500,000 grant to assist TitletownTech in opening a new, full-time TitletownTech-Milwaukee office within the Wisconsin AI Co-Innovation Lab to reach more entrepreneurs and start-ups.

“Wisconsin has a rich and storied legacy of innovation and ingenuity in manufacturing,” said Brad Smith, vice chairman and president of Microsoft. “We will use the power of AI to help advance the next generation of manufacturing companies, skills and jobs in Wisconsin and across the country. This is what a big company can do to build a strong foundation for every medium, small and start-up company and non-profit everywhere.”

For his part, Biden took the opportunity to highlight the failure of the Donald Trump-Scott Walker driven Foxconn initiative.

“Six years ago, my predecessor came to Racine with a promise of ‘reclaiming our country’s proud manufacturing legacy,’” Biden said. “Well, we had ‘Infrastructure Day’ every week for four years, didn’t build a damn thing. He and his administration promised a $10 billion investment by Foxconn to build a new manufacturing complex and create 13,000 new jobs.”

In fact, Biden continued, he came here with Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin), literally holding a golden shovel and promising to build the “eighth wonder of the world.”

“Are you kidding me?” Biden said. “Look what happened. They dug a hole with those golden shovels, and then they fell into it.”

Not that they didn’t shovel some dirt, Biden continued.

“One hundred homes were bulldozed,” he 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.”

The commentariat

Both Democrats and Republicans weighed in on the announcement and Biden’s visit.

State Rep. Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) said she was thrilled to see the Biden administration’s investment in the community turning into good jobs. 

“Not only will the Microsoft investment provide family supporting job opportunities, but it also will create educational partnerships to support our next generation of scholars at Gateway Technical College and UW-Milwaukee,” Neubauer said. “This investment will promote innovation and create lasting partnerships through the county and the state.”

Republicans were not nearly so enamored. Assembly speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said Racine County’s legitimate local economic development efforts were diminished by what Vos called a “presidential reelection stunt.”

“Today’s exciting announcement of Microsoft’s plan to create thousands more jobs in Racine County has very little to do with President Biden and everything to do with the efforts of local elected officials, local economic development leaders and Microsoft itself,” Vos said. “Today should have been an acknowledgement of the hard work of Mount Pleasant president Dave Degroot and the Mount Pleasant village board for having the foresight to build this field of dreams.”

The Assembly speaker said the day should have also been a thank you to Racine County executive Jonathan Delagrave and Racine County board members who made the investment.

“Instead, much like he’s asked us to ignore how much we pay in groceries and gas every week to credit him for what he maintains is a strong economy, President Biden is now asking us to ignore their efforts so he can take all the credit in an invite-only reelection stunt,” he said.

U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wisconsin) said everyone welcomed the Microsoft investment, but the president’s policies were getting in the way of the fruits of such efforts.

“Microsoft’s investment in our community and the jobs that will come with it is welcomed, especially during this time of high inflation and increasing cost of living for so many American families,” Steil said. “While he is here, President Biden should stop at a grocery store and talk to Wisconsin workers whose cost of living is up over 18 percent.”

What’s more, Steil said, the new data center makes it essential to build the energy infrastructure needed to power the facility, including a natural gas pipeline.

“While the Biden administration’s policies are driving inflation higher, I will continue working to make Wisconsin a great place for private investments that create jobs,” he said.

U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden campaign said Biden was taking credit for the work of others while pursuing a failed agenda that Van Orden said continues to fail families.

“Three years ago, Americans swapped the economic success that we saw under President Trump for Joe Biden’s ‘Build Back Broke’ agenda, one that can be felt by Badger state families every time they head to the grocery store, gas station, or pay their bills,” Van Orden said. “Now Biden returns to Wisconsin doing what Democrats do best — taking credit for the work of private industry, all while ignoring his real record: the rise in inflation by 18 percent or the fact that Wisconsin families are spending $800 more a month as a result of his far-left policies.”

With six months to go until Election Day, Van Orden said, Biden cannot hide from his record. 

“I am ready to rebuild the economic success we saw under President Donald Trump’s leadership and that begins this November, when we put an end to the far-left’s tax-and-spend agenda once and for all.”