Barack Obama Drinks Flint’s Water: ‘I’ve Got Your Back’

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Barack Obama was in Flint, Michigan, to assure the residents that the water is safe to drink so long as it is filtered. To prove his point, he drank some himself. The residents have been suspicious of new claims that the water is safe after months of lead exposure all while officials did nothing.

Obama’s visit didn’t resolve the crisis; pipes still need to be replaced, but as the President explained, “I’ve got your back.”

“I will not rest and I’m going to make sure that the leaders at every level of government don’t rest until every drop of water that flows to your homes is safe to drink and safe to cook with and safe to bathe in.”

According to Detroit News, Barack Obama asked for a glass of Flint’s water, filtered, to prove that it is safe to drink. Still, he insists that the pipes need to be replaced, which is a process that will take some time. Likewise, children under six and pregnant women should still only drink bottled water, which the President explained is out of an “abundance of caution.”

Many of Flint’s residents have suffered despair and anger at the government response to their water situation. State and federal regulators failed to acknowledge the danger for months after the city’s water supply was switched to the corrosive Flint river in 2014 to save money.

Children have tested positive for high-levels of lead in their blood-streams, which might signal years of medical needs and permanent mental and physical damage. Barack Obama insisted that it doesn’t have to be that way, saying “you should be angry.”

“But channel that anger. You should be hurt, but don’t sink into despair. And most of all, do not somehow communicate to our children here in this city that they’re going to be saddled with problems for the rest of their lives, because they will not. They’ll do just fine.”

Obama noted that he was also exposed to lead paint as a child.

President Obama was joined on stage by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder who was nearly booed off the stage. He has withstood numerous calls for his resignation, even from both Democratic presidential candidates.

The governor attempted to make an impromptu apology, saying “let me begin by saying I understand why you are angry and frustrated. I want to come here today to apologize.”

According to CNN, when he declared “government failed you,” the crowd responded with “you failed us.”

Barack Obama calmed the crowd. He said that he didn’t believe anyone intentionally harmed them, but still took an opportunity to address what he described as the “corrosive attitude” that less government is always better.

“I do think there’s a larger issue that we have to acknowledge, because I do think that part of what contributed to this crisis was a broader mindset, a bigger attitude, a corrosive attitude that exists in our politics and exists in too many levels of our government. And it’s a mindset that believes that less government is the highest good no matter what.”

Barack Obama received a briefing on the crisis before the speech, and called on Governor Snyder and Flint Mayor Karen Weaver to work together. The two have bumped heads a number of times while dealing with the Flint water crisis.

The speech came just four months after the President declared a limited federal emergency for Flint, which would not allow the town access funds for emergencies like hurricanes and floods. The topic did not come up in the speech.

Despite boosting morale, some residents wished Barack Obama had done more according to Fox News, like 37-year-old single mother Reneta Richard.

“I want him to leave a check – right here, right now – for pipe removal and medical bills and the life we’re going to suffer. This isn’t going to be over in 10 years.”

[Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images]