- Media coverage of job losses is highly selective and often biased, with federal bureaucrats receiving more attention than energy workers affected by the Keystone XL pipeline cancellation.
- President Joe Biden’s executive order halting the Keystone XL pipeline resulted in the loss of approximately 14,000 jobs, primarily for workers in the energy sector, but this story was largely ignored by mainstream media.
- Climate activists and government officials have downplayed the impact of job losses, with Climate Czar John Kerry stating that affected workers would have «better choices» and could «go to work to make the solar panels.»
- In contrast to the lack of coverage for energy workers, the media has extensively covered the plight of federal workers fired under President Donald Trump’s DOGE reforms.
- The media’s selective outrage exacerbates the divide between urban and rural America, neglecting the struggles of rural communities affected by job losses and economic decline. There is a call for more balanced and fair coverage of all job losses.
In the grand theater of American politics, the media’s selective outrage has become a predictable, if not comedic, spectacle. The latest act? A flood of sympathetic coverage for 58 federal bureaucrats fired under President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) reforms, contrasted with the deafening silence that greeted the 14,000 energy workers axed by President Biden’s Day One executive order halting the Keystone XL pipeline. The hypocrisy is as glaring as it is unsurprising.
The forgotten energy workers
When President Biden signed Executive Order 13990 on January 20, 2021, he didn’t just cancel a pipeline — he canceled the livelihoods of thousands of hardworking Americans. The only media outlet covering the story was Fox News. The rest of the press corps was too busy celebrating Biden’s “bold climate action” to notice the human cost.
Take Bugsy, a 30-year master welder and single father of three Texas farm boys. When Biden killed Keystone XL, Bugsy didn’t just lose his current job — he lost nearly a decade of future welding gigs. “No one will build a pipeline in the era of Biden,” he told me. His story, and those of 8,000 union workers, never made it to CNN, MSNBC or the New York Times. No “60 Minutes” segment highlighted their plight. Instead, the people got Climate Czar John Kerry’s dismissive assurance that these workers would “have better choices” and could “go to work to make the solar panels.”
The media’s indifference was matched only by the glee of climate activists. The Washington Post ran an op-ed celebrating Biden’s climate agenda, declaring that “almost every Cabinet job is actually a climate job.” The U.S. Conference of Mayors applauded the move, as did the Franciscan Action Network and Interfaith Power & Light, all with almost no mention of the lost jobs.
The bureaucrat beat: A media obsession
Fast forward to 2025, and the media’s tone has shifted dramatically. CBS News recently ran a heart-wrenching story about a park ranger who lost his “dream job.” “I am tired of waking up every morning at 2 a.m. wondering how I am going to provide for my family if I lose my job,” the ranger lamented. “I am tired of wiping away my wife’s tears.”
The story is undeniably moving, and no one disputes the hardship faced by these federal workers. But where was this empathy for the energy workers? Why is the suffering of bureaucrats a national tragedy, while the suffering of welders, pipefitters and truck drivers is an “acceptable outcome” in the name of climate change?
The answer lies in the media’s ideological bias. Fired bureaucrats fit the narrative of a heartless administration targeting public servants. Fired energy workers, on the other hand, are collateral damage in the “noble” fight against climate change. As former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg so callously put it in 2018, “We can find other things for them to do.” Never mind who “we” is or what those “other things” might be.
Rural America’s silent suffering
The media’s indifference to energy workers is part of a broader pattern of neglect toward rural America. From coal towns in Appalachia to steel towns in Pennsylvania to furniture towns in North Carolina, decades of bad policies have turned once-thriving communities into ‘depressed hellscapes’. The symptoms—depression, alcoholism, domestic violence and suicide—are well-documented, but the root cause—systemic poverty driven by the loss of good-paying jobs—is rarely addressed.
When rural Americans lose their jobs, the media’s response is often flippant. “Drive for Uber,” they say. “Start an OnlyFans page. Get a green job. Learn to code.” These dismissive suggestions reveal a profound disconnect between the coastal elite and the heartland.
A call for fairness
Conservatives do not delight in the job losses of federal workers, even if many of them implemented the policies that decimated rural America. But it is galling that the same media outlets that ignored the plight of energy workers are now falling over themselves to highlight the struggles of bureaucrats.
Perhaps there’s a silver lining. As energy jobs return under a new administration, maybe some of these displaced federal workers will find new opportunities in rural America. The houses are cheap, the people are friendly, and the media, unwilling to venture outside the city, will leave them alone.
In the meantime, let’s remember that all suffering matters — whether it’s a park ranger in Denali or a welder in Texas. The media’s selective outrage only deepens the divides in our nation. It’s time for fairness, not favoritism.
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