When the President landed in Air Force One, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver and Governor Rick Snyder were among those waiting to greet him on the tarmac. Residents, activists, and even public officials, have called for Snyder to step down — with many calling for his arrest.
After leaving Bishop International Airport, the motorcade’s first stop was at the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan in Flint, where the President received a briefing on the situation. Snyder and Weaver were also in attendance at this briefing.
"I want everybody in the city of Flint to know that you should have your child checked," POTUS told the press pool after the briefing.
Obama then emphasized that the EPA has concluded that the water is safe for everyone except children under the age of six and pregnant women, as long as a water filter has been installed.
"Filtered water is safe, and it works," he said. "Working with the state and the city, filters are now available for everyone in the city."
At the end of the briefing, the President was asked if a glass of water that he had sitting in front of him was from Flint. He confirmed that it was, and picked it up.
"Generally I haven't been doing stunts but here you go," he said as he took a small sip.
He asserted that the filters are not a replacement for the bad pipes running throughout the city, and that the process will take a long time.
"It might take a year. It might take two years. It might take more," Obama said.
The President then urged residents of Flint to help clean out the system by turning on their water for five minutes each day, a process that has been coined "Flush for Flint."
"It's not the most elegant name," President Obama said. "We need everybody to turn on their tap in the kitchen, the tub, for 5 minutes each day."
The President then rallied residents by asking them turn the poisoning of their families into a positive action.
"We have to take what has been a crisis and turn this into an opportunity to rebuild Flint even better than before," he said.
"I'm confident that we can do that if we are working together," he said. He said his visit to Flint was not for the purpose of sorting "through all the ins and outs of how we got to where we are. There are times for politics and there are times for turf battles. This is not one of those times."
President Obama stated that "kids are resilient" and that "every kid in Flint is special and has capacity and can do great things." He reminded parents that previous generations, himself included, may have been exposed to lead before people knew the dangers.
"The bottom line is we now know what to do. Parents and communities have to be proactive," he said
For the rest of his visit, the President is scheduled to meet with Flint children, participate in a round-table discussion, and give a speech at Flint Northwestern High School.
So far, three officials have been charged with misdemeanors and felonies for their role in a water crisis that poisoned the city. Calls for Governor Rick Snyder to be removed from office and arrested have been ignored.
The contamination of Flint’s water began in April 2014, when the city stopped receiving its supply from Detroit, instead shifting to water taken directly from the Flint River, a source known to have a high corrosive salt content. Corrosive salts in the water damaged the pipes, which contain lead, causing that material to be released into the water.
In October 2015, the state changed the city’s drinking water source back from the polluted Flint River to the Detroit water system.
For a period of at least six months, the EPA and Michigan officials were aware of the poisoning of Flint’s water, but did not publicize their concerns.
