Trump got a YUGE applause when he mentioned West Virginia.
The coal is still in the ground. The skilled miners are still there. The infrastructure of railroads and barges can be brought back up to speed. It’s FEDERAL regulations, put into place at the behest of green pandering politicians that STOPPED most, if not all, coal production. Get rid of the regs, the administration that caused the damage, and thus “coal is brought back.”
Trump is willing and able to say that. The insiders, not so much.
Sadly, people don’t understand. I was in the steel business and have seen what’s happened to the majors like Bethlehem Steel. It’s sad.
And I suppose that the steep drop in natural gas prices and the collapse of coal exports had nothing to do with the industry's problems.