The president vowed to help the industry, but it continues shrinking despite his cuts to regulations
Art Sullivan is considered something of a political heretic by other coalminers in south-western Pennsylvania, where a wave of support for Donald Trump based upon his flamboyant promises of a resurgence in coal helped propel the Republican to the US presidency.
“Many of my coalminer friends voted for him,” said Sullivan, who has spent 54 years as a coalminer and, more latterly, consultant to a struggling industry. “They were deceived. Trump had no plan, no concept of how to resurrect the coal industry. My friends were lied to.”
Related: Trump weakens Obama-era rules on toxic wastewater from coal plants
Related: America’s coalminers call for urgent help amid Covid-19 and industry decline