President Donald Trump told thousands of supporters gathered in Wheeling, West Virginia, Saturday evening that the war on coal in America is over.
“We’ve ended the war on beautiful, clean coal,” Trump proclaimed, referencing the Trump administration’s plan to roll back President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, which placed restrictions on coal-fired power plants that regulated greenhouse gas emissions.
The president bashed the Obama administration’s regulations, saying they “took away our strength and our wealth,” but also touted how the state’s “great coal miners are back to work” after rolling back the Obama administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations.
Trump, who had several miners standing behind him—including one with a sign stating “Trump digs coal”—praised the people of West Virginia as he touted falling unemployment numbers and a record four million Americans off food stamps under his administration.
“These are great people,” Trump said. “They love not only the beautiful, clean coal, and they love lots of other things as well. West Virginia’s back a lot faster than I thought it would happen.”
Trump appeared in Wheeling Saturday to support West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey in his Senate race against Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV). A Thursday poll showed the two are tied in the race for the West Virginia Senate seat.