![Children And Youth Hold "Stand Up To Trump" Rally At The White House Children And Youth Hold "Stand Up To Trump" Rally At The White House](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/little-miss-flint-trump.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
The little girl who made headlines last year after writing a letter that convinced President Obama to visit her hometown of Flint, Mich. while it was undergoing a contaminated water crisis criticized President Trump for breaking his promise to address the same issue.
Amariyanna Copeny, 9, who goes by Mari, called out Trump during a protest in front of the White House on Thursday, according to video from the Huffington Post.
“President Trump also came to Flint. I met him,” Copeny said after commending Obama for visiting Flint. “[Trump] was not so very nice to me at all.”
Copeny, also known as “Little Miss Flint” after winning a beauty pageant, said Trump didn’t let her ask any questions during his visit. She then criticized the President for not addressing the water crisis in Flint since taking office.
“On the campaign trail, he promised he would fix Flint,” she said. “Unfortunately, this was one promise that he failed to keep, just like his promise to make America great again.”
Flint faced a drinking water emergency after city officials belatedly confirmed in 2015 that the water supply was contaminated with lead and had poisoned local children. In January 2017, officials announced that the water supply no longer exceeded the federal lead limit, but it is still not considered safe to drink. In March, the Environmental Protection Agency awarded Michigan $100 million to upgrade Flint’s water infrastructure, using funds Congress approved under Obama, according to CNN.
The promise Trump has kept, according to Copeny, is the one to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Trump is tearing families apart with his policies on immigration, and us kids are here to tell him, ‘no more,'” she said.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Breaking Down the 2024 Election Calendar
- How Nayib Bukele’s ‘Iron Fist’ Has Transformed El Salvador
- What if Ultra-Processed Foods Aren’t as Bad as You Think?
- How Ukraine Beat Russia in the Battle of the Black Sea
- Long COVID Looks Different in Kids
- How Project 2025 Would Jeopardize Americans’ Health
- What a $129 Frying Pan Says About America’s Eating Habits
- The 32 Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2024
Write to Mahita Gajanan at mahita.gajanan@time.com