Do You Believe Donald Trump Will Save Coal Mines?

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Sally Kohn: I felt like if she had become president, that we would have coal mines anymore. But Trump couldn't change the economics of coal. No matter how many regulations he rolled back, coal was in a death spiral. And their industry and its fortunes did not improve. They can't count on the Democrats as their party any longer. Meanwhile, coal is coming back. Clean coal is coming. 100%. On the other side of the aisle, Donald Trump seizes on this moment. Let me tell you, they're going to start to work again. Believe me, you're going to be proud again to be miners.

For more than 500 days, coal miners in rural Alabama have been on strike. Around 900 workers walked off the job in April 2021, and they haven’t been back since.

As the strike drags on, the miners are discovering that neither political party is willing to fight for them.

For Braxton Wright, 39, a second-generation coal miner and, until recently, a Republican, the experience has altered his view of American politics.

Guest: Michael Corkery, a business reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading:

To make ends meet, some striking coal miners in Alabama have picked up work at an Amazon warehouse. It’s the same one where workers have tried to unionize.

For more information on today’s episode, visit

nytimes.com/thedaily

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