Donald Trump said these miners would much rather dig for coal than live in a 5th Avenue apartment and the entire internet begged to differ
We know how much Donald Trump loves coal and indeed all fossil fuels. Drill, baby, drill and all that.
And Trump reckons that coalminers love it too, so much so that they would rather mine coal than do anything else in the world, even living in luxury in an apartment on New York’s 5th Avenue, for instance.
We know this because the president said precisely that as he signed an executive order to ‘turbocharge’ coal mining while surrounded by coal miners in hard hats, like a one-note YMCA tribute.
Trump: “One thing I learned about the coal miners — that’s what they want to do. You could give them a penthouse on 5th Avenue and a different kind of a job and they’d be unhappy. They want to mine coal. She was gonna put them in a high tech industry where you make little cell… pic.twitter.com/whdR6QSnBz
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 8, 2025
And it wasn’t just the faces of some of the men behind him which suggested that, well, actually a 5th Avenue apartment doesn’t sound too bad actually if you’ve gone available, Mr President. It was the entire internet as well.
And these people surely said it best.
1.
I come from a long line of Kentucky coal miners and I can assure you they would prefer a Fifth Avenue penthouse to black lung and cave-ins. https://t.co/fPBmgHz6nw
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) April 8, 2025
2.
The rural poors… they yearn for the cole mines. It’s what they want. It’s in their DNA. It’s in their blood. It’s in their lungs. https://t.co/nrHCGdQCgZ
— Centrism Fan Acct (@Wilson__Valdez) April 8, 2025
3.
Giving a coal miner the chance to work in clean energy, tech, or advanced manufacturing is respect. Trapping them in a dying industry isn’t.
— Nikos Unity (@nikosunity) April 8, 2025
4.
This is normally the time when the nurse at the assisted living facility reminds the person to stop talking and finish his mashed potatoes. https://t.co/dTLihfW1pR
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) April 9, 2025
5.
this is simply not true. people want good paying jobs with benefits that will help them buy a home on a single salary- if being a barista offered them this financial prosperity- they’d happily wear septum rings and serve coffee. https://t.co/7WaAA6McML
— hasanabi (@hasanthehun) April 9, 2025
6.
Can we do a poll of coal workers on whether they’d rather mine coal under current pay/working conditions or have a different job that allows them a penthouse on fifth avenue and seemingly ample income. Cuz I’m gonna bet they vote for fifth avenue.
— Tirah Att (@TirahAtt) April 8, 2025
7.
I’m from a mining town. Working down a mine prematurely cost both my grandads their lives. I can say with total certainty that absolutely no one wants to be a miner, and every single miner fucking despises being a miner.
This fucking clown has not a single clue about anything. https://t.co/SZDvMmbDh3
— Calvin Betton (@Calvbetton) April 8, 2025
8.
Coal miners: https://t.co/qAJUcwxhx7 pic.twitter.com/sArXXF7gtg
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) April 8, 2025