Coal CEO backs Trump

Coal-mining corporation CEO Bob Murray is backing Donald Trump after meeting the presumptive Republican presidential nominee last week and concluding he would be a good president for his industry.

Murray told a Virginia coal industry gathering Monday that Trump invited him to his New York City office a week ago to meet, SNL Financial reported.

{mosads}Murray concluded from the meeting that, for the coal industry, Trump is “all we got” and “the horse to ride.” 

“He’s got his head on right,” Murray said, according to SNL Financial.

In the weeks leading up to the May 10 primary in coal-dependent West Virginia, Trump made coal a central issue of his campaign.

“We’re going to get those miners back to work … the miners of West Virginia and Pennsylvania — which was so great to me last week — Ohio and all over are going to start to work again, believe me,” he said at an event in the state. “They are going to be proud again to be miners.”

Trump hasn’t been very specific about his pro-coal policies, beyond a pledge to review all of President Obama’s environmental regulations, including the landmark rules limiting emissions of mercury, other air toxins and carbon dioxide from power plants. Those rules have been blamed for a downfall in the use of coal for power generation and the production of coal.

Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, took a hit in coal states from saying she’d “put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.” She has put forward a $30 billion plan to revitalize coal country, though it does not primarily envision helping the coal industry. 

Murray has long been active in presidential politics and held a fundraiser for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) last month when Cruz was still in the presidential race, though Murray didn’t endorse him. 

In the 2012 election, Murray publicly supported Republican nominee Mitt Romney and was accused of requiring his workers to attend a Romney rally, something Murray and his company have denied. He laid off more than 100 miners as a response to President Obama winning that election.

Murray has a long-held disdain for Obama and frequently files high-profile lawsuits against the administration for policies that he sees as part of the “war on coal.” 

“Obama is the greatest destroyer America has ever had,” Murray told Columbus Business First, warning that “God fear for America and Ohio if Hillary Clinton gets elected.” 

The coal magnate told the Virginia industry gathering that Trump asked him numerous questions about energy policy. Murray suggested that Trump endorse policies to encourage liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.

“What’s LNG?” Trump asked, according to Murray.

Trump is scheduled to speak later this week at an oil and gas industry conference in North Dakota, where his advisers expect him to get more specific about his energy policy plans.