Trump is returning to a much better Pennsylvania than he saw in 2016

When Donald Trump won the 2016 election, after barnstorming across Pennsylvania like a man with a serious purpose, most people hoped for an economic recovery by the end of his first term. Remarkably, he managed to accomplish that objective in just half the time, and the Pennsylvania he worked hard to win is much better off today as a result.

The economic transformation under President Trump has been nothing short of extraordinary — especially when compared to the dismal state of our economy under President Obama. In Pennsylvania, the turnaround has been especially dramatic.

At the worst point of Obama’s presidency, the Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate reached an astounding 8.8 percent. By the time Obama left the White House, the unemployment rate was still well over 5 percent in the state.

One reason Pennsylvania fared so poorly in the aftermath of the Great Recession is that the Obama administration declared war on non-renewable energy, implementing punishing environmental regulations that nearly killed the coal industry in America.

“So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it’s just that it will bankrupt them, because they’re going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted,” President Obama said in 2008.