During a White House gathering on Wednesday, Feb. 11, President Donald Trump received a bronze trophy declaring him the “Undisputed Champion of Beautiful Clean Coal.” The presentation took place as he signed an executive order directing the Pentagon to purchase coal-generated electricity and unveiled $175 million in federal funding aimed at extending the operation of older coal plants.
Jim Grech, CEO of Peabody Energy, presented Trump with the inaugural trophy from the Washington Coal Club, a pro-coal organization backed financially by the industry. The award features a bronze figure of a coal miner.
Grech told Trump that thousands of coal miners across the country wanted to express gratitude for his support. The East Room included more than a dozen coal industry leaders and miners wearing hard hats.
Trump signed the executive order in front of attendees, instructing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Energy Secretary Chris Wright to pursue long-term coal-powered electricity contracts to maintain energy supplies for military bases and essential operations.
“We’re going to be buying a lot of coal through the military now,” Trump said, touting U.S. energy exports and calling miners workers his administration has championed more than any other.
Simultaneously, the Department of Energy announced plans to allocate $175 million in funding to six projects designed to modernize, retrofit, and keep coal plants operating longer in remote and rural areas of West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina, and Kentucky.
Republican lawmakers and cabinet members were in attendance, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, Senator Jim Justice of West Virginia, and Senator Marsha Blackburn also participated.
The executive order marks the Trump administration’s latest attempt to reinvigorate the struggling coal sector, which has experienced dramatic declines over the past three decades. Coal supplied about 50 percent of U.S. electricity in 2000 but dropped to roughly 16 percent by 2024, according to the Energy Information Administration. Coal production in 2023 was less than half of its 2008 level.
Earlier initiatives included opening 13.1 million acres of federal land to coal mining and granting $625 million to coal plants in September. Trump also directed the EPA to overturn the Obama-era “endangerment finding,” which defined greenhouse gases as risks to public health and served as the basis for climate regulations since 2009.
Trump also addressed coal’s image challenges, saying he now always uses the phrase “beautiful, clean” when referring to coal—a messaging shift he claims the industry urgently requires.
Kayla Blackford, a haul truck operator at Bear Run Mine in Dugger, Indiana, spoke on behalf of miners nationwide. “We are real people under these hard hats,” she said, thanking Trump for recognizing the significance of coal and the workers supporting it.
Emily Arthun, CEO of the American Coal Council, praised the administration’s actions, calling the event “a meaningful moment for coal communities across America.”
West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey endorsed the new funding and executive order as “a major win for West Virginia workers, West Virginia communities, and all Americans who depend on affordable, reliable electricity.”
However, implementing the Pentagon’s shift to coal-powered electricity could face obstacles, including transmission system constraints and uncertainties regarding how contracts with plant operators will be structured. Analysts noted that the military depends on hundreds of bases that currently receive electricity from utility companies and grid operators, complicating any transition to coal-specific agreements.
This executive order stands in stark contrast to President Joe Biden’s 2021 mandate directing the federal government to transition to carbon-free electricity—a policy Trump canceled immediately upon taking office in January 2025.
Social media reactions mocked the award, with many characterizing it as another example of a “participation trophy” being handed to the president.
Environmental Defense Fund Action questioned whether organizations were “just making up awards now,” while others compared the trophy to Trump’s recent FIFA Peace Prize—another first-time award crafted specifically for him.
Tech entrepreneur Gissur Simonarson commented, “It’s amazing that this doesn’t embarrass him,” adding that “People feel like they now need to give him some kind of worthless trophy to win his favor.”
Some critics pointed out the irony of Republicans celebrating what one user called a “participation trophy president,” despite years spent criticizing participation trophies for kids.
The phrase “clean coal” also drew ridicule, with detractors calling it an “oxymoron” similar to “silent noise.”
A few commenters even speculated that coal industry insiders might be “trolling Trump” by giving him an award tied to an energy source widely considered harmful to the environment. Criticism extended beyond the trophy itself, as users circulated clips of Trump’s speech that appeared to show the 79-year-old president stumbling over words while declaring himself the “undisputed champion of beautiful, clean coal.”