Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, one of the primary villains in the Flint water crisis, says he’ll drink the city’s filtered tap water for the next month to prove it’s safe—now.
After months of shifting blame for the 18 months Flint residents received lead-poisoned water, Snyder is still trying to convince people he should remain in his job despite many calls for his resignation, including one from Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, according to the Daily News. Snyder’s willingness to drink the water comes one week after it was declared safe “so long as a filter is used” by Virginia Tech professor Marc Edwards and his research team.
Here’s Snyder’s latest statement on drinking Flint’s filtered tap water, via MSNBC:
“I completely understand why some Flint residents are hesitant to drink the water and I am hopeful I can alleviate some of the skepticism and mistrust by putting words to action,” Snyder said in a statement. “Flint residents made it clear that they would like to see me personally drink the water, so today I am fulfilling that request. And I will continue drinking Flint water at work and at home for at least 30 days.”
According to reports, Snyder was informed by aides that Flint’s water was poisoned over a year before the crisis was publicly disclosed. The crisis has led to lead poisonings, legionnaires’ disease, rashes, hair loss, depression, learning disabilities and more in adults, children and dogs.
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