Most people don’t know this, but China managed to build and get online 52 coal-fired power plants last year alone. Meanwhile, the bros who were running Joe Biden’s regime spent four years trying to close as many of those plants in the U.S. as possible.
It’s ignornace on steroids but when you understand the Democrat commie plot is the destruction of our country, it makes sense.
President Trump, as has often said, is 180 degrees the opposite of the woke Democrat left on energy. He knows that to power the economy he’s building, we need energy. Lots of it, not less of it. That’s why he invoked the Defense Production Act to direct nearly $700 million toward coal plants, coal mines, and export infrastructure.
In doing so, Trump told Americans that the money will support 14,000 coal industry jobs. It’ll generate $50 billion in electricity rate savings. And, again, the move helps power our economy:
Under Biden, the EPA issued regulations that would have forced the closure of dozens of coal plants. The DOE has since issued nearly 19 emergency orders just to keep aging plants running long enough to prevent blackouts. Thursday’s announcement is the administration’s most aggressive move yet to stop the bleeding and go on offense.
From the Oval Office, Trump was joined by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, and a group of governors and members of Congress. The money will protect 14 coal plants and 42 coal mines, build two new plants, and construct a major new export terminal.
More than $425 million will be used to upgrade and keep open 13 existing coal-fired plants across West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Arizona, Indiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. Another $185 million, pulled directly from climate programs, will fund new coal projects in Alaska, Maryland, and West Virginia.
The remaining $75 million will be used to build the West Gateway coal export terminal in Northern California, with capacity to handle 12 million tons of coal for markets in Japan, Taiwan, and other Asian nations.
.@POTUS: "Today, we're taking historic action to bring down the price of energy and the cost of living for all Americans with the power of clean, beautiful coal… As a result of the $700M investment that I'm announcing today, we will protect 14 coal plants and 42 coal mines, and… pic.twitter.com/37elZ0ImxF
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 4, 2026
Trump said:
Today, we’re taking historic action to bring down the price of energy and the cost of living for all Americans with the power of clean, beautiful coal… As a result of the $700M investment that I’m announcing today, we will protect 14 coal plants and 42 coal mines, and build 2 new coal plants and one massive new export terminal… these actions will support over 14,000 jobs and save the American people $50B in electricity costs.
He added: “If you look at China, if you look at so many of the successful countries, they’re using coal. If you look at some of the real great failures, countries, they’re using wind. This keeps blowing, blowing, blowing, and puts you right out of business.”
Trump knows that the economy we must build, in the short and long term, will require a lot of power. AI data centers alone will need a sizeable portion of the new power generation he’s building out.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright told reporters that coal remains indispensable to generating electricity and for heavy industry.
“It’s been the largest source of global electricity for 125 years in a row and will be for decades to come in the United States. It remains a critical source of our electricity. Also, a critical source for our industry. We can’t produce steel and cement and other materials without coal,” he said.
Thursday’s actions were not an isolated incident. In February, Trump signed an executive order instructing the Pentagon to seek long-term supply contracts with coal-fired power plants. Additionally, the Interior Department has increased coal leasing on federal lands.
And the Department of Energy (DOE) has allowed aging plants to continue operating through emergency orders rather than permitting their closure. The administration is systematically building a wall around the coal industry, one directive at a time.
Mind you, the woke Democrat left ‘environmental’ movement rejected Trump’s plan out of hand. “What’s next — a taxpayer bailout to build new phone booths?” said Kit Kennedy of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Yeah, sure. Funny, funny, bozo. The two aren’t even remotely the same. Coal powers economies, and more than likely, Kennedy issued his statement from the comfort of an office powered by a coal plant.
There is still the possibility that California’s Democrat terrorists will try to stop the Oakland-based coal export hub. If that happens, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon (R), whose state is a coal exporter, said he’ll see them in court.
