At a rally last year in the coal mining town of Derry, New Hampshire, Joe Biden put a cruel spin on Marie Antoinette’s famously callous suggestion to starving peasants—“let them eat cake.” Since they wouldn’t have jobs if he were elected, Biden suggested miners should simply learn to code.

In Joe Biden’s America, miners and their families don’t matter. Given the chance, he would likely deep-six thousands of Minnesotans’ jobs by reviving a process barring mineral permits and leases in 234,000 acres of Superior National Forest.

Six weeks before leaving office, the Obama-Biden administration’s U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) denied renewal of mineral leases for the Twin Metals Minnesota copper-nickel mine. Further, they began the process to lock down new mining near Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness for 20 years.

In July of 2020, the Trump administration’s BLM cleared a path for the Twin Metals Minnesota mine and will begin an environmental impact review for multiple metals mining.

Understandably, Biden has remained mum on the Twin Metals issue during the campaign.

The near-octogenarian’s hostility toward mining dates back to 1975, when he voted to impose federal regulations on mining. Predictably, legislation heaping federal regulations on the largely state-regulated industry forced a reduction in coal production.

Energy sector jobs will be on the chopping block in Biden’s version of the Green New Deal. Thousands of good paying union jobs will disappear on day one when Biden has promised to revoke the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. Add to that loss thousands of mining jobs, as well.

Perhaps Biden should take his own advice and learn to code. With policies and attitudes like these, he should soon have plenty of time on his hands.