ABSTRACT
Donald Trump's 2016 US presidential campaign held multiple rallies in northeastern Pennsylvania, a region characterised by its post-industrial landscapes, working-class communities, and economic deprivation. During these events, Trump repeatedly referenced the region's historical coal industry and voiced his intentions to reinvigorate mining in the area. However, archaeological investigations and historical research have demonstrated the long-term negative social and health effects of the coal mining industry on the local population. A comparison of grassroots community heritage narratives and outsider populist political rhetoric on coal mining reveals a stark contrast between the sentiments of local residents, who acknowledge the high social and environmental costs of coal mining, and populist politicians, who focus on the positive economic aspects of the industry. This chapter examines the way populist politician Donald Trump leveraged decades of political inaction and socioeconomic decline in the northeastern Pennsylvania anthracite region to advance his personal brand and political career. Specifically, Trump mobilised the cultural connotations associated with coal miners, particularly tropes of masculinity and whiteness, as a means of selling himself to working-class white communities across the nation. The success of these ploys points to the dangers of heritage narratives in populist movements and underscores the urgent need for greater political engagement with marginalised working-class communities.
