Donald Trump continues to use coal miners as sad props while he lies to them about their future
On Tuesday, Donald Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the Clean Power Plan, generally spit on the grave of any reasonable approach to climate change, and free billionaires from the burdens of following safety and environmental rules.
Chief among those plutocratic cronies is Robert Mercer, a fabulously wealthy hedge fund tycoon who funds Breitbart News and was a strong supporter of Trump’s presidential campaign. Mercer does not believe climate change is a problem, but government is. He has been quoted as saying he wants to see the federal government “shrunk to the size of a pinhead.” For him, getting rid of Obama’s climate change rules is a no-brainer.
Acting as a Greek chorus to this event were Trump’s most reliable prop—a set of coal miners provided for the occasion by some of the mining executives who also came along to see this anti-historic occasion. As he signed away the environment, Trump made a promise to the miners.
He said to coal miners standing nearby: "You know what it says, right? You're going back to work."
Which is, to put it kindly, bullshit. No—that’s too kindly. It’s Trumpshit. Which is worse than bullshit because Trump is dropping his turds in the Oval Office.
Trump’s actions won’t help miners. They won’t help the industry. They won’t change a damn thing—except they will wreck American leadership around the world and they will put millions more in the pockets of executives who will be able to make greater profits with fewer workers.