Barry Ritholtz, Columnist

Nothing Trump Does Can Save Coal

Don't blame liberals and regulations; blame capitalism and technology.

November 15, 2017 at 6:21 PM UTC

Corrected

November 17, 2017 at 1:41 PM UTC

Barry Ritholtz is a former Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is chairman and chief investment officer of Ritholtz Wealth Management, and was previously chief market strategist at Maxim Group. He is the author of “Bailout Nation.”

It's not the new black.
Photographer: Kirill Kukhmar/TASS/Getty Images

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On the campaign trail and in the White House, Donald Trump has warmly embraced coal. He has rolled back regulations on its use and eliminated some federal subsidies for alternative energies like solar and wind, along with electric cars. A few coal miners even landed jobs in the industry as the producers anticipate rising use. "Coal is BACK, baby!," Breitbart News declared.

Only not really.