Reuters obtained a copy of an unreleased report from the federal government that shows most states lost coal mining jobs in 2017, Trump's first year in office.
The industry gained just over 771 jobs in 2017, but most of them were concentrated in a single state (West Virginia) while most others states shed hundreds of jobs.
The industry also lost jobs in other Appalachian states like Ohio, Kentucky, and Maryland; the western Powder River Basin states Montana and Wyoming; as well as in several other states like Indiana, New Mexico, and Texas.
Texas lost the largest number, at 455, and Ohio was a close second, losing 414, according to the data.
Pennsylvania, which gained 96 jobs in 2017, is also expected to go negative soon after Dana Mining announced this month it would close a mine employing about 400 people.
According to the government report, the new jobs in West Virginia and other nearby states were the result of new operations aimed at exporting metallurgical coal that's used to produce steel rather than provide energy for coal-fired power plants. The metallurgical coal is being exported to countries such as China which is mass producing cheap steel.
It's funny when you think about it. The American steel industry is angry at the Trump regime at the moment because it has done nothing to protect American producers from cheap Chinese or Russian imports, but the American coal industry is partially responsible for the cheap imports from China.
Everything is connected in the modern global economy and Trump has no idea what he's doing.
It would be fair to say the Trump regime has done almost everything in can for the coal industry in terms of regulations, but that was never the reason why the industry is dying. The "war on coal" was a lie. Trump swooping in to save the industry was a lie. Rolling back regulations isn't going to give anyone a job, it's just going to line the pockets of coal barons before the last mine finally closes.