Joe Biden gave America déjà vu the other day at a rally in Derry, New Hampshire, when he told coal miners to learn how to code.
The best thing about Joe Biden telling coal miners to learn to code is the man can barely send an email without calling the IT department
— Not voting for Genocide Joe (@DoctorFishbones) December 31, 2019
Saying “Anybody who can go down 3,000 feet in a mine can sure as hell learn to program as well,” Biden also bafflingly added that “Anybody who can throw coal into a furnace can learn how to program, for God’s sake!” even though that isn’t actually a part of coal mining.
https://twitter.com/DataChef4H/status/1212078392327061505
My kid (not quite three) conflates "pretending" with "learning." He stands with his arm up in the air and says "I'm leaning to be the Statue of Liberty." This is what I think of when Joe Biden says people who toss coal in a furnace (??) will learn to code.
— 'Weird Alex' Pareene (@pareene) December 31, 2019
People across the political spectrum were unimpressed by this take, pointing out that the skills involved in coal mining aren’t actually transferable to programming and that Biden’s speech in particular was especially patronizing.
A few corrections: coal miners don't in fact throw coal into furnaces, not everybody who can throw coal into a furnace can learn to program, and Joe Biden isn't (as a plurality of Democrats believe) the most electable candidate they have. https://t.co/yJpzCxoagX
— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) December 31, 2019
https://twitter.com/BeauJaxe/status/1212093949898301441
https://twitter.com/BohemiaBB/status/1212403452485210112
There are plenty of other industries and professions—from carpentry to installing solar panels—where the skills learned from coal mining are extremely valuable. As such, Biden’s choice of “coding” for an alternative career seems a particularly poor and strange choice. The green energy industries, which will need to expand to replace coal’s place in supplying America’s electricity, would have seemed the natural choice for redirecting coal workers into instead, something commentators online have been quick to point out.
https://twitter.com/Freuds_Worst_Rx/status/1212377676520054784
https://twitter.com/WillettsMagazi1/status/1211950856926613504
Meanwhile, coal miners CAN learn to work in green energy, for example, installing solar panels, and they ARE in fact learning how to do this JUST AS FUCKING HILLARY CLINTON SAID
— Dr. Ohm 🇺🇲🌊🇺🇦 (@HereToRebuild) December 31, 2019
It’s possible that Biden’s remarks were intended as a counterpoint or jibe at fellow candidate Mike Bloomberg—who kicked off the whole learn to code meme on Twitter last year when he said “You’re not going to teach a coal miner to code. Mark Zuckerberg says you teach them [people] to code and everything will be great. I don’t know how to break it to you … but no.” If so the attempt fell flat, coming across instead as a tone-deaf failure to understand the issues faced by coal miners or the reality of either industry.
Twitter spent much of 2019 banning people for saying, "Learn to code." Meanwhile, Joe Biden ended the year by saying coding was so easy a coal miner could do it. @StillCrankyAF <—possible caveman. pic.twitter.com/HEoelRsu9G
— 𝙋𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙮𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙠 ™ © ® ⓘ 🇺🇸 (@PhillyTalk) January 1, 2020
Yeah, learn to code. And just like when I left college with programming qualifications, they won't be able to find a job worth a damn either.
— Styky Wykyt (@stykyt) January 1, 2020
another day down in the coal mines, where i mine the coal and then immediately throw it into the underground coal furnace
— Gender Reveal Pipebomb (@ApeIsrael) December 30, 2019
https://twitter.com/RealCaseyH/status/1212104988031365122
Biden’s remarks have certainly provided fuel for his political enemies, with both Republicans and the Democrats who oppose him latching on to his statements as yet more proof that Biden isn’t fit to be either the Democratic nominee or the president.
"Anyone who can throw coal into a furnace can write code" -Joe Biden
— Nick Adams (Alpha Male) (@NickAdamsinUSA) January 1, 2020
How condescending.
The Democrats have abandoned the working class of America!
https://twitter.com/rfk2020/status/1212400024090533893
https://twitter.com/FireAlertsAdv/status/1212360787936735234
may as well call them 'deplorables' while you're at it. You have called them 'useless'. You can be assured they are NOT…
— Trumpster (@Gettingtrump) January 1, 2020
Joe Biden Suggests Coal Miners Should Learn To Code https://t.co/gblZLGFoF6 via @dailycaller
And a lot of people are comparing him to those who were banned from Twitter for telling newly unemployed journalists to learn how to code—and asking if he’ll also be banned for saying it. Though it’s a false equivalence—Biden’s speech lacked the harassment component of mass replying the same thing over and over to individuals specifically in order to upset them—it’s still a very bad look for the wannabe president.
https://twitter.com/NewToQ1/status/1212438414173310982
#Grabby @JoeBiden says #coalminers should '#learnToProgram'
— Conservative Biker (@RightSideBiker) January 1, 2020
Hang on. Didn't @Twitter have a meltdown and start shutting down accounts when we told #fakenews Journalists to "Learn to code"? So, I guess they'll ban Biden now? https://t.co/q8DqlfEoTn #FoxNews
Wasn't Twitter closing user accounts for saying Biden's exact "learn to code" comments?
— 'Unacceptable views': Rummaging Globalism (@RGlobalism) January 1, 2020
Guess "learn to code" is OK for coal miners out of a job, but not OK for left wing journalists out of a job? Amazing hypocrisy.
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H/T the Hill