Trump Vows to Revive Mining Industry, Slams Hillary as Anti-Coal

Donald Trump has made bringing jobs to America a central focus of his campaign. As I wrote on Saturday, Trump has shifted his entire focus towards bringing down his one remaining rival.

“I’m going to bring jobs back to America and Hillary has no clue as to jobs,” said Trump last week as he slammed Hillary for supporting NAFTA and the Trans Pacific Partnership. “She can’t beat me on jobs and the economy.”

One way in which Trump seeks to make jobs available is by reviving the mining industry, which since 2014 has lost a shocking 191,000 jobs. Nearly 7,000 of those jobs were lost this April.

The plight of these workers has not escaped the billionaire businessman, and he’s using it as ammo against his Democratic opponent.  

Trump framed Hillary as “anti-coal,” during a recent campaign stop in Charleston, West Virginia, claiming that he as president would revive the industry while Clinton would kill it. “I am going to put the miners back to work and she said ‘I am going to put the miners and the mines out of business,’” he announced at the Charleston Civic Center on May 5th. 

“If I win, we are going to bring those miners back. You are going to be so proud of your president, you are going to be so proud of your country.” 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that “since reaching a peak in September 2014, employment in mining has decreased by 191,00, with more than three-quarters of the loss in support activities for mining.” 

The entire industry has been on the decline since the 80s, but sped up painfully with the loss of more than 10,000 jobs between April 2015 and April 2016. That’s a lot of people out of work in just 12 months.