Biden Hails ‘Transformative’ Microsoft Project in Mount Pleasant

President Joe Biden. File photo by Jeramey Jannene.

President Joe Biden may soon become an honorary Wisconsinite. In addition to his frequent visits to the swing state this election year, the president has already assimilated to a local cultural phenomenon — becoming a cheesehead.

During a visit to Racine on Wednesday, Biden shared that he began rooting for the Green Bay Packers as a high school student in Delaware. “We were the only high school in Delaware that overwhelmingly rooted for Green Bay,” he told the crowd gathered at Gateway Technical College, evoking cheers and a smattering of applause.

In his latest Wisconsin visit, the fourth this year, Biden joined Microsoft President Brad Smith in announcing the expansion of Microsoft’s Mount Pleasant data center project.

The effort was first announced by the software corporation in March 2023 for a 315-acre site once slated for Foxconn. Biden didn’t miss the opportunity to shade his predecessor for the multi-billion dollar project’s ultimate failure.

“Six years ago, my predecessor came to Racine with the promise of quote ‘reclaiming our country’s proud manufacturing legacy,’” Biden said of former President Donald Trump. “He and the administration promised a $10 billion investment by Foxconn to build a new manufacturing complex and create 13,000 new jobs … look what happened. They dug a hole with those golden shovels and then fell into it.”

Biden delivered his own set of promises on Wednesday. “We’re determined to turn it around,” he said, declaring the new data center will yield an estimated 2,000 permanent jobs, along with more than 2,000 union construction jobs to build out four separate data center facilities on the site.

Smith suggested the project will have a ripple effect for employment across the state. “It’s not just about jobs we’re creating here,” he said. “We are creating manufacturing jobs across the state of Wisconsin, as we get steel from near Wausau, we get chillers from Lacrosse, as we get generators from near Madison; this is literally creating jobs across the state of Wisconsin.”

The project has grown significantly since it was first announced as a $1 billion effort in March 2023. An additional 1,030 acres were added to the Microsoft site in November as part of an expansion of the project to include the data center facilities. Construction is already underway on the first data center.

The project now amounts to a $3.3 billion effort.

“It’s going to be transformative,” Biden said. “Not just here, but worldwide.”

The project is expected to include a heavy emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, and will include a manufacturing focused AI Co-Innovation Lab on the campus of the UW-Milwaukee.

“We literally will have the opportunity to help hundreds of companies — hundreds of manufacturing companies — come in, so they can design new AI-based systems that will ensure that Wisconsin manufacturing remains at the forefront of global competitiveness,” Smith said.

Microsoft intends to make several additional investments across southern Wisconsin. The company maintains an office in Green Bay near Lambeau Field as part of its TitletownTech venture capital partnership with the Green Bay Packers.

The software company is also partnering with Gateway Technical Community College to train and certify up to 1,000 people to fill operational jobs at the upcoming facilities, Smith said.

In remarks delivered before the president’s appearance, Governor Tony Evers praised Microsoft’s investments across Wisconsin.

“Wisconsin has a long, proud history and tradition of being a manufacturing powerhouse,” Evers said. “We’re thrilled to have Microsoft be a part of advancing this important work. Together, with the strong support of President Biden and so many others, we are working to create a better, stronger, more equitable future for everybody.”

Cory Mason, mayor of Racine, was also present at the event, where he praised Biden for lowering crime and boosting trade jobs in a brief speech before the president’s appearance.

Other notable attendees included Liz Shuler, president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL CIO); Nick Fick, president of membership development at IBEW 430 union; Wisconsin Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski; Superintendent of Public Instruction Jill Underly; Kathy Blumenfeld, secretary for the Wisconsin Department of Administration; State Senator Bob Wirch; former State Representative Jeff Neubauer and Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave.

Martin Hying, an expert in information technology, didn’t quite make it into the event itself, but still had a message for the president. While Biden delivered his speech indoors, Hying stood on the sidewalk nearby holding a sign that read: “A data center does not create 2,000 local long-term jobs. It might create 20. I know, I run three.”

Hying, who took a vacation day in hopes of attending the president’s speech, explained his reasoning in a lengthy Facebook post, which pointed out inconsistencies in Biden’s claims about the project.

“There is no evidence these jobs would benefit the local community where we have had our property taxes skyrocket to cover the local outlays for all the unused Foxconn dreams,” he wrote, noting that the purported “high-paying jobs” could go to those working from anywhere in the world, and would not necessarily be local. He added that “while over time there might be 2,000 people who interact with that datacenter on an administrative basis, nowhere is it a reality that it would be in the year, or even decades after it opens.”

While Hying was skeptical, others were outright critical of the president’s visit. Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Whatley released a statement Wednesday morning, noting price hikes across the state.

“Joe Biden is trying to save face in Racine County as Wisconsinites feel the pain of Bidenomics,” he stated. “Manufacturing has stalled, family farms are shuttering, and costs are up for everything from electricity and gas to food and housing.”

After wrapping up his appearance at Gateway College, Biden headed to the Dr. John Bryant Community Center in Racine, where he spoke to a crowd of approximately 100 about outreach to Black voters.

The president is expected to depart Wisconsin this afternoon, with plans to travel to Chicago Wednesday evening.