About the video, notice the first man interviewed? He is wearing breathing tubes likely because he worked in coal mines, and coal dust has damaged his lungs.
"In coal country, putting faith in Trump's economic promises" PBS NewsHour 2/21/2017
Excerpt
SUMMARY: In the coal towns of West Virginia, President Trump made economic promises that helped him win the election. Around 12,000 mining jobs have been eliminated in the last few years in that state alone while production remains at its lowest since the 1980s. In collaboration with the NewsHour and Marketplace, Frontline offers a look at the hopes and realities for some of the Americans who voted Trump.
JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour): Now a special series this week on the hopes and economic realities of many of those Americans who voted for President Trump.
Three reports will take us to Erie County, Pennsylvania, Central Valley, California, and the coal towns of West Virginia. The President made economic promises in each of these places that helped him win.
Filmmakers with PBS' Frontline went to those areas looking for personal stories.
Our first report is set in coal country in West Virginia, and profiles two miners we spoke with after the election.
It is part of How the Deck Is Stacked, NewsHour's collaboration with Frontline and Marketplace, in conjunction with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
WATCH THE FULL (VIDEO) DOCUMENTARY
DAVE BOUNDS, Retired Coal Miner: I have been registered Democrat all my life, but I crossed over this year. I voted for Donald Trump, because he promised to help the coal miner. And, for this region, we need help.
There's good men out here just walking the streets. Their families are getting desperate. Welfare can't keep people forever. These men need to go back to work.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: So I just left parts of Virginia, and West Virginia.
And the coal industry is decimated. The miners are out of work. They are totally out of work. I mean, there's — there will be no such thing as coal in this country pretty soon. What we're going to do, folks, is going to be so special. We're going to bring back our jobs.
We are going to be America first. We are going to make America great again.
DAKOTA HALL, Coal Miner: I really want to be a coal miner, always have been, ever since I was in high school. Everybody had their dreams about being a basketball player, football player. I always just wanted to be a coal miner.
The only thing that I really have given thought about is Trump getting in office and going back to work. My American dream would just be to watch my kids grow up happy and healthy. That's the only thing I could ever ask for.
I didn't have anything very long, you know, not a whole lot anyway. Didn't make enough. Didn't work long enough. They said that things went dry. It made it really, really hard to take care of a baby and a wife.
ROGER BALL, Owner, B&B Mine Safety: Since the election, a lot of lights have came on in mining.
Most of them have a job waiting on them, or they wouldn't be here to spend that money.
Getting outside with nobody hurt, now that's what pays the bills, and pays it the right way. We don't want no blood on that coal. Nobody does.
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