Yang on Biden Saying Miners Can Learn to Code: ‘Let Them Do the Kind of Work They Actually Want to Do’

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang speaks during the Democratic presidential primary debate at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California on Dec. 19, 2019. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang said that coal miners should be able to get work in fields they’re skilled in instead of having to switch to information technology after rival Joe Biden said any miner could learn to code, or program computers.

“Let them do the kind of work they actually want to do, instead of saying to a group of people that you all need to become coders,” Yang said while campaigning in Keene, New Hampshire, on Jan. 1. “What’s that all about? Maybe Americans don’t all want to learn how to code.”