Sanders: If Flint Were ‘an Affluent White Community,’ Gov’t Would Have Responded

GOLDBERG: "Say you get elected. You know you're going to be facing House and Senate that I feel are  going to be very obstructionist. I could be wrong. It's possible. How do you feel about the EPA and what's going on in Flint? What do you think we can do to prevent this kind of insanity from happening everywhere? Because we know there are a lot of states in the union right now that have these problems but nothing as bad as Flint has. What would you -- how would you get around these folks saying, oh, it's not a big deal?"
SANDERS: "I think you have one of the great public health crises of our time."
GOLDBERG: "Yeah."
SANDERS: "I have asked for governor Snyder's resignation. And i didn't say that easily. I didn't make that politically. The irresponsibility there in terms of what the government -- state government knew and should have done and did not do is literally beyond comprehension. What I will say to you, Whoopi, also as I think most people know, if that was an affluent white community I suspect government would have responded somewhat differently. (Applause) But it's unspeakable tragedy because we're not going to know for many, many years what the long-term impact on brain development is for the kids right now. But the bottom line is if the state is not prepared to act, the federal government should act absolutely decisively in every respect."