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Trump-Justice will ‘work together’

Many West Virginians are hopeful a conversation between President-elect Donald Trump and Governor-elect Jim Justice is the start of a much improved relationship between the Mountain State and the White House.

After Justice spoke for a few minutes with Trump recently, he sounded optimistic: “It’s an exciting day for West Virginia because we now have a pathway to the White House and a president-elect who is totally committed to putting our coal miners back to work.”

That would be a nice change from a president who was totally committed to putting coal miners out of work.

But while it is impressive Trump would make such a phone call — frankly, he does not need coal-state voters as he did a month ago — any optimism should be cautious.

Many of the coal jobs lost over the past eight years are gone forever. The market has moved on. And so, when Trump reportedly asked Justice to tell us, “We are going to get those coal miners back to work,” it is important to notice he did not say “in coal industry jobs.”

Instead, Justice said Trump told him the two will work together to “bring new opportunities to West Virginia families.”

If such an effort is conducted alongside the cessation of a relentless assault on coal by the Environmental Protection Agency, perhaps the Mountain State’s transitioning economy can find its footing.

No turnaround will happen overnight. There are still struggles ahead. But early signs of better cooperation between the executive branches in Charleston and Washington, D.C., are encouraging. Let us hope it is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

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