On Trip to Flint, Donald Trump Gives Stump Speech, Gets Interrupted

— -- On his trip to Flint, Michigan, where he toured a water plant and addressed local residents gathered at a church, Donald Trump was interrupted when he began criticizing his opponent Hillary Clinton, remarks he usually delivers at campaign rallies.

“Hillary failed on the economy. Just like she’s failed on foreign policy. Everything she touched didn’t work out,” Trump said to a small crowd of local residents gathered at the Bethel United Methodist Church.

Then the Rev. Faith Green Timmons, a pastor at the church, went on stage and stopped Trump.

“Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we’ve done in Flint, not give a political speech,” the pastor said.

Trump complied and turned back to addressing Flint, a city that is still recovering from high levels of lead found in the municipal water after it switched water supply sources in 2014.

“I can only say in the strongest of terms that we can fix this problem,” Trump said. “It's going to take time. It's amazing the damage that has been done.”

Trump went on to say that the situation in Flint would be “fixed quickly and effectively” if he’s elected to the White House.

“Most importantly we’ll bring jobs back to Flint,” Trump said.

Trump had started off his remarks to the small gathering at the church by saying he had “just met the most beautiful family and they are devastated by what’s happened with the water and it’s had a huge impact on them mentally and physically.”

“Flint's pain is a result of so many different failures,” Trump said.

In addition to the city's water crisis, Trump touched on the impact that the outsourcing of the automobile industry has taken on Flint.

“It used to be cars were made in Flint and you couldn't drink the water in Mexico,” said Trump. “Now the cars are made in Mexico and you can't drink the water in Flint. That's not good.”

Trump also toured the City of Flint’s Water Treatment Plant.

Trump’s trip to Flint was announced today, with little advance planning. On Tuesday, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver pre-emptively decried Trump’s visit as a distraction, saying in a statement “that city of Flint employees and the staff at the Flint Water Plant are focused on dealing with the continued contamination in the drinking water and cannot afford the disruption of a last-minute visit.”

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton visited Flint at the beginning of February.