President Obama took the stage in Flint, Mich., and coughed multiple times before asking, in the city where lead-contaminated water has kept thousands of residents from turning on their taps, for a glass of water.
After searching his podium for a glass, Obama leaned into the mic and asked, “Can I get a glass of water?”
The crowd at Flint’s Northwestern High School immediately cheered and laughed at Obama’s remark, which came during a portion of his speech in which he critiqued conservatism.
Obama played up the moment for a few seconds, asking repeatedly for some water while the crowd cheered. A few moments later, someone gave the president a glass of filtered water, which he sipped as he continued his speech.
Obama is in the beleaguered eastern Michigan city of 100,000 people Wednesday to hear from residents about the lead water crisis that has enveloped Flint. He met with community leaders before speaking and was briefed by federal and state leaders on the government’s response to the crisis, which he likened to a natural disaster.
“That’s why I’m here, to tell you directly that I see you and I hear you and I want to hear from you about how this public health crisis has disrupted your lives, how it’s made you angry, how it’s made you worried,” Obama said.
In April 2014, a state emergency manager appointed by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed off on a symbolic vote from the Flint City Council to change the city’s water source to a new local authority. While a pipeline was being built, a state official decided the city would get its water from the Flint River instead of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.
The Flint River water, however, was so acidic that it caused the lead pipes bringing water from the city’s cast iron mains into homes to corrode. Lead leached off the pipes and into drinking water throughout the city.
The state and the federal government have declared a state of emergency, and Flint residents are not able to drink the water coming out of their taps.
A report done by the state indicated that state environmental officials are at fault for the crisis. Three people, two state regulators and one city official, have been charged with state crimes, and the Michigan attorney general’s office continues to investigate the incident.
