Coal executive to host fundraiser for Trump

A top coal industry executive will host a fundraiser for Donald Trump next week as the presumptive Republican nominee’s campaign runs short on cash.

Murray Energy Corp. CEO Robert Murray will host Trump at a personal, invitation-only fundraiser next Tuesday, according to a company spokesman. 

{mosads}Murray is a provocative and politically active executive in the coal industry and sits at the helm of one of the biggest Appalachian mining companies. 

Murray endorsed Trump in May after a meeting in New York, saying, “he’s got his head on right.”

He hosted a fundraiser for Ted Cruz in April during the Texas senator’s presidential run, and in 2012 Murray backed Republican nominee Mitt Romney. 

The executive has long criticized President Obama’s energy policies, accusing him of waging a “war on coal” and suing against a slate of federal environmental rules and policies. 

He has called Obama “the greatest destroyer America has ever had,” and told Columbus Business First in December: “God fear for America and Ohio if Hillary Clinton gets elected.” 

Trump, meanwhile, has made courting coal country and the energy industry a key focus of his campaign. He has promised to revive the coal industry — though he has offered few specifics — and told a West Virginia audience earlier this year that, “we’re going to get those miners back to work” and “they are going to be proud again to be miners.” 

Murray’s fundraiser comes as Trump struggles to raise money for his presidential campaign, which relied largely on self-funding during the primaries. He reported Monday that he had just $1.3 million in cash on hand at the end of May, compared to Clinton’s $42.5 million.

The Associated Press first reported Murray’s fundraiser for Trump.