West Virginia voters laud Trump for trying to save coal

DANVILLE, W.Va. (AP) — As a laid off coal mine electrician, Nolan Triplett doesn't think his industry will ever return to the heady days when it powered America and offered generations of Appalachians a chance at a middle class life.

But he still backs the president who said he'd reopen the mines and put thousands back to work, even if such promises proved empty.

“Even if I don’t go back to this industry, I’m still with him,” said Triplett, 41, outside a mine worker certification office in Danville, a town of about 700 people along the Little Coal River in Boone County south of Charleston.

Four years after Donald Trump donned a miner’s helmet at a West Virginia campaign rally and vowed to save a dying industry, coal has not come roaring back. The fuel has been outmatched against cheaper, cleaner natural gas and renewable energy.

But many West Virginians applaud Trump's efforts and remain loyal as he seeks a second term. Triplett and other voters say they are attracted to his “America First” slogan and anti-abortion stance, and figure he's the only one standing in the way of the entire industry closing down.

“He’s done good for this country all around," said Triplett, who lost his last mine job when the pandemic hit.

Democrat Joe Biden, who calls global warming an existential crisis, has promised to steer investments to coal and power plant communities, creating new jobs in renewable energy.

But many in coal country seem more intent on blaming the climate-change messenger than considering his plans for growth.

Next to Triplett stood Ronnie Starr, who lives near the Kentucky border in Mingo County, the scene of a legendary shootout over labor rights in the mines a century ago. He's had to move as far as Alabama to find work as a mine electrician...