Speaker 1 (00:24):
Clean, beautiful coal. Clean, beautiful coal. We love clean, beautiful coal, don't we, Doug? I'm thrilled to welcome to the White House, the men and women who light our cities. And you do things that people don't even understand. There's so much. You do so much. You heat our homes, fuel our factories, and turn natural resources into American riches and dreams. Our amazing coal miners, thank you very much, fellas. That's great. And I know you well. I know you well. I think I get about 97% of your vote. And you wouldn't want to do anything else. You wouldn't switch with a guy who had a beautiful penthouse apartment on 5th Avenue. You wouldn't switch with that me. That was me. I had a nice, easy life and now I decided to do this. But you know what? We just hit the highest price in the history of the stock market, 50,000.
(01:29)
And a lot of people are getting rich with your 401(k)s and everything else, so our country's back. We have the hottest country anywhere in the world, so it's pretty cool. So, I want to just tell you, I really appreciate you being special people. You got mistreated very badly for a long period of time, but you've never had a better friend in the Oval Office than me. And I'm proud to officially name the undisputed... When did this come out, Mr. Speaker? The undisputed champion of beautiful, clean coal. We have to proceed always... I don't use the word coal. It needs a PR job, because had a bad reputation for a while, so we're not allowed to say the word coal anymore. It has to be preceded by beautiful, clean coal. We're cleaning it up. Very good.
(02:18)
And we're delighted to be joined by Secretary Doug Burgum, who's doing a fantastic job from the great coal mining state of North Dakota. And thanks as well to Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, a fantastic guy who's doing a great job. Thank you, Mike. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. He's our secret weapon. He's getting those approvals done in record setting time. True. Great senators, john Barrasso and Jim Justice, thank you very much for being here. Hi, Jim. Been a long time, Jim. You're looking good. Shelley Moore Capito. Thank you, Shelly. Thank you very much Shelley.
(03:06)
Marsha Blackburn, Bill Hagerty, Ted Budd, John Husted, Bernie Moreno, and David McCormick all here. Great senators. Every one of them, great senators, representatives of the House. Jim Baird, Troy Balderson, Andy Barr, Dave Taylor, Warren Davidson, Troy Downing, Morgan Griffith, Brett Guthrie, Harriet Hageman, Mike Kelly, Dan Meuser, Scott Perry, Carol Miller, Diana Harshbarger, and Riley Moore. Boy, that's a good group of people. We have some others in here too, and I'm not going to say it. It's just too many. Don't get angry at me. I'll never get their vote again. It's very dangerous.
(03:48)
I also want to thank the President of the Washington Coal Club, Michael Day, CEO of the National Mining Association, Richard Nolan, along with many of the greatest business leaders in this powerful industry and a great industry. It is. But of course, the most important people here today are those who get their hands a little bit dirty to keep America running at full speed, our frontline coworkers. And I'm pleased to report that in the first year of my presidency, real wages for the typical minor increased by more than $2,200. I'd say that's pretty good.
(04:32)
And I'll give you the bad news. It's the first time that that's happened in more than 27 years, all right? Those other presidents didn't take good care of you. They didn't take good care of you at all. They didn't realize what they had. The last time many of us were together, I signed a historic executive order to ensure that America's beautiful, clean coal plants would keep running when we need it most. And that's 24 hours a day in rain, sleet, and snow. Coal can operate when other substances can't. The Biden administration, he had no clue what he was doing. Shut down dozens of coal plants by... They shut them down. Literally, it seemed like one a week, one a day. They were shutting them down left and right, as fast as you could. They were paying people to shut down a coal plant.
(05:24)
And if we had stayed on the ruinous path, we would have seen mass suffering and rolling blackouts all over the country. We would've had blackouts right now all over the country. We would've had a country that worse than blackouts. Every other thing would've been wrong with it too, with all of the horrible things that took place at our border. And right now, our border is 100% secure, first time in the history of our country. And you see it all the time. So, instead, when large parts of our country were hit with winter storms, it was coal that kept the power on and it was coal that never was bothered by cold weather, warm weather. It's never bothered by anything. It just keeps on chugging.
(06:11)
During this vicious storm, and they had some really bad ones, coal generations surged 31% while solar and wind totally collapsed. I'm not a big fan of those crazy windmills that are all made in China. They're made in China, but not used by China. Let's look for a couple of wind farms in China, see if you can find one. They sell us those things for fortunes, but we don't do them anymore. Have we done any this year, Doug? We're not going to do any, hopefully for four years in this country. They're losers. They lose. You're supposed to make money with energy, not lose money with energy. And they lose a lot of money.
(06:55)
And by the way, they're all over Europe. And I was recently there. And it's not recognizable what they've done to their beautiful fields and those beautiful, beautiful scenic areas. And they put those wind turbines all over the place. And they're chugging, chugging, chugging, not doing a damn thing, except every time it goes around, it loses a fortune. It's horrible. They've lost their way. Actually, not recognizable. And then I wonder why they don't like me over there. But you know who likes me over there? The people like me over there, I can tell you, because they know I'm right. More than 200 million Americans across 35 states were impacted by the storm. And the only reason most were able to take a hot shower was thanks to the power provided by the most reliable and really dependable form of energy that we have. And that's clean, beautiful coal.
(07:53)
Biden and the radical left wanted to abolish coal. They did everything they could, everything possible. But on day one of this administration, I ended the war on coal. We terminated the Green New Scam and we withdrew from the unfair, one-sided Paris climate accord. That was another beauty we had. We paid $1 trillion. Nobody else had to pay 10 cents. Already, I've saved 74 coal power plants from crushing restrictions and closures that would've been forced to shut down in the very immediate future. And today, I'm proud to announce that the Tennessee Valley Authority has taken action to save two major coal plants in Tennessee. Tennessee Valley Authority.
(08:44)
The plants are the Cumberland Fossil Plant and the Cumberland City. It's in Cumberland City. It's a big, beautiful thing that they just wanted to shut down. The Tennessee Valley Authority has gone in a very stupid, very bad direction. The head of it, it's considered sort of semi-private. It's supposed to be semi-public, but it's semi-private. It's the highest paid government-type official in history. I think they pay them $10 million a year. They're paying them 10 million. I think the speaker of the House wants to resign and head the Tennessee Valley there. And he could do a much better job, I can tell you that. Is that right, Doug? They pay them $10 million a year? Can you believe it? Well, Trump is on the scene now. We're going to make his life miserable. $10 million, I wonder what he got before he got that job.
(09:38)
Probably making 150,000. And the Kingston Fossil Plant in Harriman, Tennessee, so they're going to remain open and they're going to be vibrant. They're going to be improved, built up, and continue to do all the things that they do. These two plants were slated for termination, but we're going to save over 450 jobs by keeping them going and going strong. In addition, I'm directing the Department of Energy to issue funds to coal plants in West Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina, and Kentucky, to keep them online and keep those plants open, right, Jim? And very importantly, we're also bringing our coal mines roaring back to life under four years of the Biden administration, Sleepy Joe. Not a single permit was approved for a new coal mining project.
(10:35)
Think of it. Four years, not one permit. They were all being disapproved, actually, so not a single permit was approved. I didn't know that. But in one year of Trump, we've already approved over 70 permits for very big, very powerful mines that are going to be with us for many, many years to come. And we did that over the last 30 days. We did more than half of them, because we have the system going now. It's a very reliable source. Great source. If you look at some of the most prosperous places in the world, they're run on coal. Since I took office, coal production is up by nearly four million tons a month after falling for decades. I mean, literally decades.
(11:16)
Coal power generation is up by nearly 15% in my first year, and that number is going to be about 25 or 30% this coming year, at least. These pro-American energy policies are bringing energy prices way down. You see what's happening even with gasoline. Gasoline. I was in Iowa last week and it was $1.85 a gallon. And many of them are 1.99 and 1.91 I saw. We have them under $2 a gallon now. A little while ago, just a year and a half ago, they're at 3.50, $4, 4.50. In California, $7, because of this crazy taxes. Coal is one of the lowest price energy sources, and it's probably considered by almost everybody to be the most reliable. It requires no subsidies, because you make money with coal. More coal means lower cost and more money in the pocket of the American citizens. And in the pocket, frankly, of the United States of America.
(12:17)
That's not bad. Every once in a while, we have to take care of our country. With us today is Kayla Blackford, who drives a hall truck at Bear Run Mine in Dugger, Indiana. Great state. We love Indiana. I only like states that I won so big. I want to pick them. No, I like them all. Where she has worked for five years. And she's joined by her wonderful husband, Eric, who also works at the mine, and their really incredible son, Isaac. And Kayla, if you could come forward. I'd like to just have you say a few words, please. Come on up. Where's Kayla? Kayla. Oh, hi, Kayla.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Thank you, Mr. President. As he said, my name is Kayla Blackford, and I am so proud and honored to be here today, representing Peabody and coal miners across this country. My husband and I both work at Bear Run Mine in Southern Indiana. I drive a haul truck and I train others on this large piece of equipment. A haul truck is used to move rock or coal and is capable of carrying loads of nearly 250 tons. The tires are 12 feet tall. When I stand next to one, I barely reach the middle of the tire. It's the best job I've ever had, and not just because of the cool mom points I get for driving big equipment. My job supports my family. It supports our community. And it keeps the lights on and electricity affordable, not just in Indiana, but across the country.
(13:54)
As demand increases and our lives become increasingly electrified, America needs to generate more electricity, not less. For years, coal miners have felt the weight of policies that made our future uncertain. Over the past year, that weight has begun to lift. My son, Isaac, who's here today, has friends whose parents also work at Bear Run. And when you grow up seeing huge mining equipment from the road, like Isaac and his friends do, you dream about the day when you get to run that equipment. When a mine closes, families don't just lose their jobs. They're often forced to leave their communities, their schools, and their support systems behind.
(14:42)
The common sense policies to keep coal plants running, implemented by this administration, mean that my husband and I can keep working, stay where we are, and continue raising our sun in our community that we call home. And the impact is even greater than that, because you, Mr. President, have single-handedly kept utility prices affordable, the lights on, and our jobs alive. We are real people under these hard hats. On behalf of America's coal miners, thank you, Mr. President, for recognizing the value of coal and the value of the people who power this industry every day.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
Thank you so much. [inaudible 00:15:37]. Thank you very much. Sorry, I'll take that.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Thank you very much. Good job. She did a good job. Look at the boy. He's so proud of mom. Did a good job. Couldn't do better. Anyway, thank you, Kelly. That's really nice. Thank you very much. Coal is also critical to our national security, vital to everything from steel production to shipbuilding and artificial intelligence. It's incredible what's happening with coal. And it's also incredible how clean they're able to keep it now with all of the new techniques by using it. They're able to do things environmentally that are amazing. You see that. That's why I'm also pleased to announce that in just a moment, I will sign an executive order that directs the Department of War to work directly with coal plants on the new power purchasing agreements, ensuring that we have more reliable power, and stronger, and more resilient grid power.
(16:27)
And we're going to be buying a lot of coal through the military now, and it's going to be less expensive and actually much more effective than what we have been using for many, many years. And again, with the environmental progress that's been made on coal, it's going to be just as clean. As some of you may know today, February 11th is Thomas Edison's birthday. There could be no better way to honor the legacy of the man who lit the world. Did you know that? The man who lit the world, Isaac. Do you know that? Did you ever hear of Thomas Edison? A little before your time, slightly.
(17:03)
But then to reaffirm our commitment to American energy independence and the American energy dominance, we're going to be dominant. We are dominant right now. We have a new group of people that we're very close to, become very close to, and that's called Venezuela, where we're taking in, in this case, oil. We had 50 million barrels of oil that we have floating right now to Houston to be refined, and we're getting energy from all different sources. And so, oil and gas is fantastic. So many of them are so good, but we're not going to use the bad ones. America is now the number one energy producer. In the world, we are by far number one. In fact, we're very soon going to be number one by double what number two is.
(17:52)
And under our leadership, we're becoming a massive energy exporter. In just the past few months, we've made historic trade deals with Japan, Korea, India, and others to increase our coal exports dramatically. We're now exporting coal to all over the world. And the quality of our coal is supposed to be... I mean, I'm not an expert in coal, but I've been very good to the people that are. The quality of our coal is supposed to be the finest anywhere in the world. From West Virginia to Wyoming, from Ohio to Montana and all across the country, we're lifting up our hardworking American miners like nobody has ever done before.
(18:31)
We're bringing down costs of American consumers. And together, we're making the most of the magnificent land that God gave us to rebuild the greatest economy and the greatest nation in the history of the world. Another one of my favorite words is the word tariff. I know they want to hear that little story. I used to say it's my favorite word. They said, "What about God? What about religion? What about family and your wife, your children?" So, now I make it my fifth favorite word. Oh, you have no idea. I suffered. Kayla, I was suffering from the fake news media. They were going after me when I said it was my favorite word. So, I make it number five, and I think I'm generally speaking. They'd like it to be a little bit later than that. But because of tariffs, you saw that it was just announced our trade deficit has gone down.
(19:25)
Now, if you go down one point, two points, you're like a genius. It's gone down 78%. 78%. Can you believe it? And we have to fight, right, Speaker? And we have to fight. Just came out. Everyone's saying, that can't be right. 78%? 78% reduction in our trade deficit. And next year, we're going to be positive if we keep it all going. We're waiting for a very important decision from the Supreme Court, but I want to thank the speakers here because you have fought with me. You got it very early. Now, almost everybody's getting it, but it's numbers that we've never seen. The other thing is breaking 7,000 on the S&P. And very importantly, 50,000 yesterday. 50,000 we broke on the Dow. And if you remember, when I won, they said if he could ever produce 50,000 by the end of his fourth term, by the end of his fourth year, it would be unbelievably successful. Well, we produced 50,000 in excess now, went up today, in excess of 50,000 at the end of my first year.
(20:40)
So, that's some difference. And that's because of tariffs. So, we're doing numbers that nobody thought were possible. The economy is rich. I tell the story that in Saudi Arabia, the king said, "You know, sir, a year and a half ago, we were all saying you were a dead country, and now you have the hottest country anywhere in the world." That's true. We're the hottest country anywhere in the world, and a lot of reasons. So, once again, I'd like you thank you for the tremendous honor of being here, and especially these gentlemen, the front row, and a couple of you in the second row. What happened to the guys in the second row? They couldn't make it to the front. What's wrong with them?
(21:27)
They don't shovel it as well. But I want to thank you and invite the chairman of our National Coal Council, Peabody Energy CEO, which is a great company, by the way. Jim Grech, to come up and say a few words. Please, Jim. Thank you very much.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
Thank you, Mr. President. [inaudible 00:21:48]. Mr. President, we stand here today representing the thousands of coal miners across the country to express our deep gratitude, sir, for the actions you've taken to support our industry. Your leadership and decisive actions have sent a powerful message. We have a president who, more than any other, deeply understands the importance of coal in supporting the future of this nation. Sir, you know what? Most people don't. The US has more energy in its coal than any nation has in any single energy source. We have more energy than Russia has in its gas, and we have more energy than Saudi Arabia has in its oil. Yet, before you, sir, presidents were afraid to allow coal to help keep electricity abundant and low cost. And Mr. President, that changed with you.
(22:40)
We saw the impact of your wise policy in real time during the recent winter storm, as temperatures plunged and demand surged. The coal plants you directed to keep open provided the stability and resilience that the grid needed. And today, thanks to your leadership, sir, we are working with your administration on the potential to build new coal field power plants, and having coal emerge as a source of rare earth elements, and critical minerals that are essential for our national security and economic future. And because of you, sir, the mining towns that one's feared for their futures are seeing new investment, renewed optimism, and a sense of pride restored.
(23:16)
Families feel more secure, local businesses are growing again, communities that had been written off are reinvigorated. For the thousands of workers across this industry, your support has meant more than policy, sir. It has meant dignity, stability, and the recognition that their work matters in making America great again. So, sir, Mr. President, on behalf of Michael Day, the Chairman of the Washington Coal Club and all the coal miners across our great country, I'd like to ask, first, all of the... There's some executives and coal miners that are going to join us on stage and we are going to present you an award, sir.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
That's great. Thank you very much. Thank you.
Speaker 4 (24:01):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 5 (24:01):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 6 (24:24):
Thank you very much. Yes, sir.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
Thank you, fellas, very much.
Speaker 7 (24:24):
Thank you, Mr. President.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
Sir, to show our appreciation, the trophy says, "The undisputed champion of beautiful, clean coal." Thank you, sir.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
We'll make a lot of money now. It's great to bring it back. You were treated very badly and now you're treated really well. Thank you very much. Thank you, everybody, very much. Appreciate it. It's beautiful. We don't use auto pens. There's no auto pen. Come on up. That's great.
Speaker 8 (25:42):
Come, please.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
Okay. Here you go, fellas. Take these. Take these, pass them around. [inaudible 00:26:13]. There you go. I'll get up. Okay. Come on. You guys okay?
Speaker 3 (26:13):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Good luck. Make a lot of money. Have a good time.
Speaker 9 (26:38):
Mr. President, why would the interspace pose to work with us?