FLINT, Mich. — John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, sidestepped questions about the inconsistency of Spokesman Brian Fallon’s comments prior to CNN’s debate and Clinton’s statement during the debate calling for Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to resign.
Before the debate, Fallon mocked Sanders over calling for Snyder’s resignation, implying it wouldn’t make a difference in Flint citizens’ daily lives, as the Washington Free Beacon noted.
“Bernie Sanders wants the governor to step down and Hillary Clinton says that’s a significant difference. Your reaction?” CNN host Wolf Blitzer asked Fallon before the debate.
“I think that, in a nutshell, shows the difference in their approaches,” Fallon responded. “If the governor stepped down tomorrow would that make a difference in the everyday lives of the people who are drinking contaminated water, who can’t take showers, who can’t brush their teeth?”
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However, in the early moments of Sunday’s debate the former secretary of state changed her tune by calling for Snyder’s resignation, something she had previously not done.
“The governor should resign or be recalled, and we should support the efforts of citizens attempting to achieve that,” Clinton said. (RELATED: Hillary Clinton Calls For Michigan Governor’s Resignation [VIDEO])
Following the debate, Podesta ignored the discrepancy and instead touted Clinton’s role in bringing the city’s water crisis to light.
“Brian speaks for the campaign, but what she said tonight was we need accountability and it’s appropriate that [Snyder] resign or the recall effort move forward,” Podesta told The Daily Caller.
“But I think what she’s done right from the beginning was come out here, listen to the people of Flint, try to respond to that,” he added. “She talked to the mayor; the mayor asked her to make this a national issue, she tried to do that and elevated that. She’s tried to use her efforts to bring support to the people of Flint and that’s what we’ve done continuously and today. But people need to be held accountable.
When asked if it was planned that Clinton would wait for the Flint debate to call for Snyder to step down, Podesta only noted that the former secretary of state has “a strong view about it” and laid blame on the Michigan governor.
“She has a strong view about it,” he said. “She thinks that Governor Snyder, in order to save money, put the children and the people of Flint at risk and that he ought to be held accountable for that.”