By Taylor Kuykendall

With early-choice candidate Ted Cruz out of the picture, Murray Energy Corp. founder and CEO Robert Murray is pivoting his support to presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, though he thinks he may need to temper recent promises to return coal to its glory days.

Murray expressed his support for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee at the Virginia Coal and Energy Alliance annual conference May 23. He said he based his opinion on a recent meeting with Trump in which the two discussed energy policy.

"He's got to get elected for the sake of our country," Murray said in an interview after his presentation. "The meeting was at his request, a lengthy meeting — he asked a lot of questions. He will surround himself with some very capable people. I'm confident."

Murray said Trump did not seem to mind that he had supported Cruz with four fundraising events in the past.

"The meeting was not about money at all," Murray said. "It was about energy policy. He gets it. Right now he's just focused on getting elected so he has to kind of gloss over all of the issues."

Murray said once Trump is elected, the coal boss believes he will have the "courage" and "passion" to make changes he said current policymakers lack. Murray said Trump asked him "rapid-fire" questions for 45 minutes in an attempt to understand the industry.

"He was alone. I had two of my people there," Murray said. "They never said a word because you couldn't get a word in edge-wise with him asking me questions and me talking over him and vice-versa. … He gets it. He knows there's a whole amount of the economy there that has to be stabilized."

However, Murray said he did feel the need to curb Trump's enthusiasm in at least one way.

"He wants to bring the mines back and I told him that was not possible," Murray said. "I explained to him that mines are a living thing and that they cave in. They flood and you can bring a new mine back in that reserve, but now you have the capital cost that renders the mine noncompetitive in the energy mix."

At recent events, Trump has implied that by cutting regulations, the industry would thrive again.

"You watch what happens — if I win, we're going to bring those miners back."

Trump's optimism is contrary to Murray's own views on the future of the industry. Murray sees the future of the coal industry as smaller and much more competitive than recent years. He envisions an industry that produces only about 550 million tons a year, down from more than 1 billion tons per year only a few years ago, and he expects to capture up to one-sixth of that business with Murray Energy's low-cost longwall mining operations.

"I don't think it will be a thriving industry ever again," Murray said. "We'll hold our own. It will be an extremely competitive industry and it will be half size. … The coal mines cannot come back to where they were or anywhere near it."

A recent analysis of SNL Energy data shows coal mine employment nationwide has fallen at least 42% from its near-term peak in late-2011 to the first quarter of 2016. That picture could look even worse when recently announced layoffs show up in the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration data.

Murray said Trump was "sort of sobered to find out" that the coal industry would not return to its heyday. Murray claims he furthered suggested Trump not say things that result in "expectations that aren't real."

"He wants to see America move forward," Murray said. "And as you heard me say, he has the will, he has the courage to do it. He'll surround himself with good people. That's a big takeaway that I had. He sought me out and he's looking for advice wherever he can get it."

Murray also elaborated on what he said was a 45-minute call taken with U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan. He said the bulk of that conversation was about the Stream Protection Rule, a U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement rule with large implications for the industry.

Murray said Ryan assured him he "was on top of it" and that the effects of the rule on the industry was a "No. 1 issue."