Trump Signs Coal Orders: 'We're Ending Joe Biden's War on Beautiful Clean Coal Once and for All' (April 8, 2025)

Surrounded by coal miners in the East Room, President Donald Trump signed orders to bring an industry back. “Today we are taking historic action to help American workers, miners, families, and consumers. We’re ending Joe Biden’s war on beautiful clean coal once and for all,” Trump said on April 8, 2025, according to the transcript published by the American Presidency Project [1].

“And all those plants that have been closed are going to be opened if they’re modern enough,” he said. “And we’re going to put the miners back to work.” [1]

The video above shows Trump signing the coal orders on April 8, 2025. Quotes are from the American Presidency Project and the Department of Energy [1][2][3].

”Beautiful Clean Coal”

“I call it beautiful clean coal,” Trump said. He said he tells his people never to say the word coal “unless you put ‘beautiful clean’ before it.” [1]

“This is a very important day to me, because we’re bringing back an industry that was abandoned, despite the fact that it was just about the best—certainly the best in terms of power, real power,” Trump said [1].

“China is opening two plants every week,” he said [1].

Of the miners standing behind him, Trump said: “I don’t want to have any arm-wrestling contests with any of them.” [1]

“Who the Hell Is Chris Wright?”

Trump told how he picked his energy secretary. He said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum had recommended Wright. “And he said, ‘Sir, you have one person who is much better than me at this: Chris Wright.’ I said: ‘Who the hell is Chris Wright? I have no idea who he is,’” Trump said, as the room laughed [1].

“And then I learned that he’s the most respected person in the energy business, by far—far and away,” he said [1].

”More Than Double”

Trump tied coal to artificial intelligence. “You know, we need—to do the AI, all of this new technology that’s coming online, we need more than double the energy, the electricity that we currently have,” he said [1].

“We’re now way ahead of everybody at AI. China is in second place, but way behind,” Trump said [1].

He turned to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin. “And I said, ‘If we have a nuclear power plant, Lee, can you get it approved in less than a month?’” Trump said. “One week,” Zeldin answered, to laughter [1].

”While He Was Awake”

“For 4 long years, Joe Biden and congressional Democrats tried to abolish the American coal industry. They did everything in their power while he was awake, which wasn’t much,” Trump said, as the room laughed [1].

He said they were “shutting down dozens of coal plants, banning coal leases on Federal lands, and putting thousands and thousands of coal miners out of work—destroying their lives, actually.” [1]

“Most importantly, we have more of it here in America than anywhere else on Earth. We have more coal than any other country,” Trump said [1].

”We Are Still Here”

Jeff Crowe, a miner from West Virginia and a general superintendent at American Consolidated Natural Resources, spoke for the miners. “I believe this past November that America clearly spoke about what we wanted for our country,” he said [1].

“Prior administrations have done all they could to eliminate the coal industry,” Crowe said. “But we are still strong, we are still here, and we are still needed in order to make America great again.” [1]

Trump asked for the speech. “I’m going to sign it for you, because I think—I mean, he worked hard,” he said. “And hopefully you can sell it tonight for a lot of money.” [1]

“No, sir. I’ll keep that one,” Crowe answered [1].

”Japan Is Flying Here to Make a Deal”

Trump also spoke about tariffs. “We’re taking in almost $2 billion a day in tariffs. Two billion a day,” he said [1].

“Right now Japan is flying here to make a deal. South Korea is flying here to make a deal. And others are flying here,” Trump said [1].

What the Order Says

Executive Order 14261 says: “Coal is abundant and cost effective, and can be used in any weather condition.” [2]

“It is the policy of the United States that coal is essential to our national and economic security,” the order says, adding that the nation’s coal “will be critical to meeting the rise in electricity demand due to the resurgence of domestic manufacturing and the construction of artificial intelligence data processing centers.” [2]

By the Numbers

More than double: the electricity needed for AI, per Trump [1].
Almost $2 billion: a day in tariff revenue, per Trump [1].
1,560 megawatts: the Michigan coal plant the Energy Department kept open [3].
2,700 megawatts: coal capacity retired in Michigan since 2020, per the Energy Department [3].

What Happened Next

A coal plant was saved from closing. On May 23, 2025, Energy Secretary Chris Wright found “that an emergency exists in portions of the Midwest region of the United States” and ordered that “MISO and Consumers Energy shall take all measures necessary to ensure that the Campbell Plant is available to operate.” [3]

The 1,560-megawatt J.H. Campbell plant in West Olive, Michigan, had been “scheduled to cease operations on May 31, 2025,” the order says [3].

For Trump on artificial intelligence and power at the July AI summit, see HYGO News’ page on July 23, 2025. For Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs six days earlier, see the page on April 2, 2025.