-As a candidate, Donald Trump repeatedly promised
that rural America, which he dubbed Trump country,
would improve under his presidency.
But is that really the case?
This is "The Check In."
[ Cheers and applause ]
[ Bell dings ]
Throughout his presidency, Trump has consistently claimed
that now he's in charge, everyone,
especially his supporters, are coming out on top.
-America now is winning again.
Some people are getting a little tired of winning.
The people of Missouri are gonna go to your governor,
and they're gonna say,
"Governor, please, go see the President.
We can't stand winning so much."
We are going to keep on winning.
We're going to win so much,
you're gonna get so tired of winning.
Just so tired.
-I'll give him credit for one thing.
He doesn't overwhelm you with details.
[ Laughter ]
Also, I don't think he gets how winning works.
You don't get tired of it.
I've never heard a New England Patriots fan
burning his Tom Brady jersey and moving to Cleveland.
"Enough's enough, Brady! I got January plans!"
[ Laughter ]
Trump loves to say that, thanks to this presidency,
farmers, coal miners,
and residents of red states are back.
But in November, "The Washington Post"
asked the question, "Is Trump country
really better off under Trump?"
And their answer was no -- it's falling further behind.
And there's no better example of that than West Virginia.
You might remember that when Trump visited West Virginia
in 2016, he made all kinds of impossible promises
and even pretended to be a coal miner.
-I'll put it on, right?
[ Cheers and applause ]
-I've never seen someone so proud of his ability
to put on and take off a hat.
[ Laughter ]
He took off that hat like a dove was gonna fly out of it.
"Ta-da!"
Also, whoever picked his hard-hat size
did not take into account Trump's giant ego.
[ Laughter ]
I know next to nothing about coal mining,
but I'm pretty sure that's not how you do it.
Unless I'm wrong, coal is generally not located
under 4 to 6 inches of loose dirt on the surface.
I think he's mistaking coal mining
with clearing the driveway after a light snowstorm.
But Trump didn't just act like a coal miner,
he also promised he'd put coal miners back to work,
and as president, he claimed he'd succeeded.
-It's really happening. We are back.
The coal industry is back.
We've ended the war on beautiful, clean coal.
I will tell you, you will look back,
and you will say it was the single greatest vote
you ever cast, and you are gonna be very proud.
And for those miners, get ready, because you're gonna be
working your asses off, all right?
-So there you go. Trump says he's ended
the war on coal and that coal miners
would be working their asses off,
but based on the actual facts,
it sounds like their asses are still firmly on.
-Coal mines are closing faster than ever.
-A bleak outlook tonight on the coal industry.
A brand-new report from CNN suggests more coal plants
have closed during the first two years
of the Trump administration
than the first four years of the Obama administration.
It's not because of regulations but competition
with cleaner, cheaper forms of energy.
Another 20 plants are expected to close this year.
-In fairness, it isn't Trump's fault
that the mines are closing.
It's just the march of time.
It's the same reason it's hard to find work
as an abacus operator.
[ Laughter ]
And instead of facing the reality that coal plants
are closing faster under his presidency
than they did under Obama's,
Trump keeps insulting coal miners
by insisting that they're incapable
of doing anything other than dig for coal.
-Remember, I was here just before the election?
And I brought a couple of guys into a room, and I said,
"Fellas, supposing we teach you a new skill.
Supposing we teach you, like,
how to make little widgets or gidgets or gadgets or...?"
These are big, strong coal miners.
They said, "Sir, we want to dig coal."
I said, "I agree with you! I agree."
-Well, maybe they would've answered differently
if you had said, "We'd like to train you
to transition to another field of energy development
that's cleaner and safer
with better long-term prospects,"
instead of, "Do you fellas wanna make widgets and gidgets?"
[ Laughter ]
"Giguh-guh-uhhh! Wigi-gigi-guh."
[ Laughter and applause ]
Also, they told you they didn't want to learn new skills?
Are you sure it wasn't just an assumption you made
like you did in an interview with "Playboy" magazine
back in 1990 when you proclaimed,
"If had been the son of a coal miner,
I would've left the damn mines,
but most people don't have the imagination
or whatever to leave their mine. They don't have it."
Which is? "'It' is an ability to become
an entrepreneur, a great athlete, a great writer.
You're either born with it or you're not."
And by "it," he, of course, means
a wealthy father who cheated on his taxes.
[ Laughter ]
And don't take it from me.
Even experts on coal mining in states like Pennsylvania
and West Virginia said that Trump's lies
are actually hurting the coal miners
he claims to be saving.
-He's lying to them.
-For 52 years, Art Sullivan worked in
and consulted on mines around the world.
And he bristles every time he hears the President
claim to be the savior of coal.
-And that really disturbs me,
because these are really good people.
-Do you feel the President gave these communities false hope?
-In my opinion? Absolutely.
I mean, I'm an expert. He's not.
If you spend several years working coal mines,
you're going to come to understand electricity,
hydraulics, mechanics.
I see no limitation on the average coal miner's ability
to transition into any other field.
-That's right. Coal miners are qualified
in electricity, hydraulics, and mechanics.
Meanwhile, Trump isn't even qualified to be the canary.
[ Laughter ]
So, Trump promised that cutting regulations on power plants
would help bring back jobs in rural America.
He also promised that cutting those regulations
would not impact the quality of the air and water.
-We want a clean environment.
We want a strong, beautiful, clean environment.
I want clean air, I want crystal-clean water.
And we've got it.
We've got the cleanest country in the planet right now.
There's nobody cleaner than us.
And it's getting better and better.
-Can we start by cleaning you off first?
[ Laughter ]
You can't claim we're the cleanest country
when the President looks like he just lost a challenge
to eat the world's hottest jalapeño pepper.
[ Laughter ]
"Don't worry -- my stomach can handle --
Oh! I'm shvitzing right away."
So, there you go. Coal mines might be
closing faster under Trump, but at least they still have
clean air to breathe and clean water to drink, right?
-The Environmental Protection Agency
is considering rolling back regulations on mercury.
It's a neurotoxin that can lead to brain damage,
learning disabilities, and other birth defects in children.
-The Environmental Protection Agency announced
the proposal today, saying that the cost
of these regulations outweighs the health benefits.
Remind us again why we care
about mercury getting into the air.
-It's a powerful neurotoxin.
There are also other hazardous air pollutants
that are emitted along with mercury.
-So you might have expected Trump to neglect the blue states
that didn't vote for him.
I wouldn't be surprised if he started dumping mercury
over New York out of Air Force One.
"Don't breathe in, losers!"
But this is Trump country.
These are people he promised to help,
and if this keeps up, Trump might need a shovel
to dig himself out of this hole.
This has been "The Check In."
[ Cheers and applause ]
[ Bell dings ]