--- title: Democratic Debate: Michigan Governor Responds description: Michigan Governor Rick Snyder wasn't too happy about being criticized at Sunday's Democratic debate. canonical: https://time.com/4184080/democratic-debate-rick-snyder-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-18T05:04:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T14:12:42.868Z article:section: Politics og:title: Michigan Governor Upset About Democratic Debate Mention og:description: Over the water crisis in Flint. og:url: https://time.com/4184080/democratic-debate-rick-snyder-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt852b4e42cfc996f2/69887987524fc00765df6548/rick-snyder2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: FILE--In this June 20, 2014 file photo, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder speaks in Detroit. The governor's top legislative priorities in 2016 include restructuring Detroit’s school system, updating energy laws and enacting parole and other criminal justice chan og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Michigan Governor Upset About Democratic Debate Mention twitter:description: Over the water crisis in Flint. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt852b4e42cfc996f2/69887987524fc00765df6548/rick-snyder2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Michigan Governor Upset About Democratic Debate Mention by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Jan 18, 2016 5:04 AM UTC  Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder speaks in Detroit, June 20, 2014. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder speaks in Detroit, June 20, 2014.Carlos Osorio—AP by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Jan 18, 2016 5:04 AM UTC A Republican politician was upset about being mentioned during the Democratic presidential debate Sunday, but it wasn’t any of the people running for the White House. When moderators asked the candidates if there were any topics they wished had been addressed during the debate, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton brought up the [lead-contaminated tap water](http://time.com/4183739/flint-water-obama-emergency/) in Flint, Mich., referencing [an interview she gave to MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow](http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2016/01/hillary%5Fclinton%5Finfuriated%5Fby.html) on Thursday. “Well, Lester, I spent a lot of time last week being outraged by what’s happening in Flint, Michigan, and I think every single American should be outraged,” Clinton told NBC anchor Lester Holt. “I issued a statement about what we needed to do, and then I went on a TV show and I said it was outrageous that the governor hadn’t acted — and within two hours he had.” Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who spoke next, went even further, noting that he [called for Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to resign](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/01/16/bernie-sanders-calls-on-michigans-governor-to-resign-over-water-contamination-in-flint/) on Saturday. “Well, Secretary Clinton was right, and what I did, which I think is also right, is demanded the resignation of \[the\] governor,” he said. “A man who acts that irresponsibly should not stay in power.” **Read More:** [_President Obama Signs Emergency Declaration Over Flint Water_](http://time.com/4183739/flint-water-obama-emergency/) Snyder, who [decided against a White House run in May](http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/rick-snyder-not-running-for-president-117713), tweeted his disappointment shortly after the debate ended. > [](http://twitter.com/onetoughnerd/status/688935924391120896) The tweet also got a supportive response from liberal filmmaker Michael Moore, a native of Flint who first received attention for a documentary about the city’s strained relationship with GM. > [](https://twitter.com/MMFlint/status/688931917366824961) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4184080/democratic-debate-rick-snyder-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4184080/democratic-debate-rick-snyder-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders/"},"headline":"Michigan Governor Upset About Democratic Debate Mention","datePublished":"2016-01-18T05:04:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:12:42.868Z","description":"\"Political statement and finger pointing from political candidates only distract from solving the Flint water crisis\"","url":"https://time.com/4184080/democratic-debate-rick-snyder-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders/","keywords":["Debates","Hillary Clinton","2016 Election topic","Michigan","Flint","Flint Water Crisis"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt852b4e42cfc996f2/69887987524fc00765df6548/rick-snyder2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt852b4e42cfc996f2/69887987524fc00765df6548/rick-snyder2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"FILE--In this June 20, 2014 file photo, Michigan Gov. 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