Virginia Senator Mark Warner Talks Trump, Putin and Coal

 

 

 

By Charles Boothe 

 

July 23, 2018 - Virginia Senator Mark Warner (D), did not have a shortage of topics to discuss when he made a stop at the Tazewell County Fair Saturday afternoon in Southwest Virginia, from Vladimir Putin to the future of the coal industry.

“I was astonished,” he said of President Donald Trump’s statements at the Helsinki Summit regarding his stance on whether Russia meddled in the U.S. 2016 election and seeming to side with Putin on the issue.

 

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., greets  local residents as he makes his way around the audience during the 4-H FFA Market Lamb Show in the barn at the Tazewell County Fair Saturday. 
 

Photo by Eric DiNovo

“I would like to hear an explanation (of the reasoning Trump used),” he said.

Warner said he knows Trump is popular in Southwest Virginia, but residents here are “true patriots” and what Trump said was disturbing.

With no explanation of any strategy behind his “kowtowing” to Putin and no news from the White House on the content of Trump’s one-on-one meeting with Putin, Warner said it may have been a matter of Trump just “shooting from the hip.”

“Putin was a KGB agent,” he said, adding that he has extensive experience and Trump does not. “The details we are getting (from the meeting) are from Russia.”

Warner, who is vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he recently met with leaders from several countries, including Sweden and Ukraine, and they are perplexed that Trump may not support NATO.

“Trump is more comfortable with Putin than with our allies,” he said, adding that the President has a history of liking authoritarian leaders.

Warner said that while the Helsinki incident is of great concern to him, he has been somewhat supportive of some of Trump’s initiatives, including cutting back on the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulations.

“I think there were some areas that needed adjustment,” he said, but former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt “went too far” and showed too much “self interest.”

Those changes that may have helped the coal industry, though, should be put into context of a broader perspective, he added.

The recent uptick is due to global factors impacting supply and demand, he said, and the general decline in the industry is also affected by the growing use of natural gas.

“It’s an open question (of how long the uptick in coal will last),” he said, and it has to with whether the growth is sustainable in a global marketplace.

On the natural gas issue, Warner said he sees a future in exporting the gas and has generally supported pipelines that will bring natural gas form the Marcellus Shale field in West Virginia through Virginia and to points overseas.

However, he said the process of getting the two pipelines approved that impact Virginia, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which impacts Giles, Montgomery and Roanoke counties, should have been handled differently.

The pipelines should have been evaluated as a whole rather than on a regional basis as far approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is concerned, he said, and whether both pipelines are needed.

“The process should have been more transparent,” he said, adding that public input could have been considered more and the process also leaves people wondering if FERC is simply providing a rubber stamp approval to these projects.

One item Warner does agree with Trump on is dealing with China and tariffs may be advisable, but not necessarily tariffs on other countries.

“Canada is not a security threat,” he said of Trump placing tariffs on some Canadian imports. “China is the biggest threat.”

Warner said China has been taking advantage of the U.S. and something should be done, but the long-term effects of all the tariffs will hurt the economy.

The Trump tax reforms will hurt the economy, and families, in the long run as well, he said, because they primarily benefit the wealthiest citizens.

He is also concerned what the impact will be on the sustainability of Social Security and Medicare.

“At one time we had 16 people working supporting every person retired,” he said. That ratio is now about three to one.

Another concern is maintaining the quality of the public schools systems, especially in struggling areas like Southwest Virginia.

“Trump’s budget cut the heck out of federal education dollars,” he said, again emphasizing that the money going to the wealthiest people could have been used to enhance public education.

Warner also took aim at Trump’s war on the media, when he often paints the picture of the media being an enemy of the people.

“I get mad at the media sometimes too,” he said. “But it is dangerous” to call it an enemy of the people.

The First Amendment freedom of the press is a fundamental of democracy, he added.

When asked about the possibility of a run for the Democratic nomination for President for the 2020 election, Warner did not say yes or no.

“I’m just trying to get the Senate to work better in a bipartisan way,” he said, admitting that is a difficult task.

Tazewell Mayor Todd Day said it is always good to see Warner visit the county.

“We’ve been blessed over the years,” he said. “He has been here a number of times.”

Warner’s visits have nothing to do with party affiliation, he said, and Warner has always been supportive of the town and county.

Tazewell Today President Irma Mitchell said it always “makes us proud” when office holders visit the county.

“We have been friends with Mark Warner for many years,” she said. “He has been here many times. He comes back. He has been good for Southwest Virginia.”

Mitchell said some politicians never visit.

Warner’s stop at the fair wrapped up a two-day swing through the area.

On Friday, he met with members of the Appalachian Sustainable Development in Wise County to learn more about the “Out of the Woods Project,” which promotes entrepreneurship and economic development by training local “forest farmers” to cultivate and process native plants at little to no cost in order to sell to outside companies for medicinal and other purposes at a profit. 

On Saturday morning he toured the Remote Area Medical (RAM) clinic, where he met patients and thanked volunteers.

 

He also visited the Mission of Mercy (MOM) Dental clinic in Wise, which provides Virginia’s neediest families with dental care, exams, and treatment at no cost.