Laid-Off Coal Miner on Confronting Hillary Clinton

Coal companies continue to face tough times as the Obama administration’s regulations continue to crack down on the industry.

The debate over renewable energy and the ‘war on coal’ is still a hot topic on the campaign trail. In March, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said she would “put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.” On Monday, while campaigning in West Virginia, Clinton was confronted by a laid-off coal worker, Bo Copley, about her remarks.

During an interview on the FOX Business Network’s After the Bell, Copley discussed his meeting with the Democratic presidential candidate and explained how the crackdown on coal companies is impacting families in the West Virginia coal country.

“I’m hurting now,” Copley said. “There’re a lot of families that are hurting and going without right now. We're not worried about down the road. We're worried about what we're going to do for our families now.”

Copley believes one way a presidential candidate could help his family and others working in the struggling coal industry is by creating viable opportunities. He said no other businesses that have come into the area have been able to compete on salary for those working in the coal-mining industry.

“It's a dangerous job so I guess that's one reason why it's a little bit better paying job than others... If someone else wants to bring something else to our area, hopefully it's something that can compete price-wise for our livelihoods,” he said.