Trump administration introduces “coalie” the cartoon coal mascot to soften industry image

The Trump administration has unveiled an unlikely new face for America’s coal industry: “Coalie,” a cartoon character featuring big eyes, a cheerful grin, and yellow boots that bears striking resemblance to Japanese kawaii-style mascots. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum posted the character on social media last week as part of what he calls the “American Energy Dominance Agenda.”

The cute coal mascot represents a strategic shift in how controversial industries market themselves to the public. Similar to Japan’s widespread use of adorable characters for everything from police departments to nuclear companies, Coalie appears designed to make coal seem less threatening through what experts call our brain’s hardwired response to babylike features. President Trump has explicitly acknowledged coal’s image problem, reportedly ordering White House staff to refer to “clean, beautiful coal” because the industry “needs public relations help.”

However, the timing has sparked significant backlash. Environmental advocates and coal community workers criticized the mascot’s introduction just one day before Trump signed legislation redirecting $500 million from coal mine cleanup funds to wildfire management. Critics argue there’s “nothing funny about climate change” or the health impacts of coal mining, calling the character tone-deaf given ongoing rollbacks of miner safety programs.

Ironically, Coalie originated in 2018 as an internal joke at the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, where staff put googly eyes on coal photos. Officials now hope the character can draw attention to their lesser-known work cleaning up abandoned mining sites, though the cute approach risks the same backlash that befell Japan’s Pluto-kun nuclear mascot after the Fukushima disaster.