Vice President Mike Pence attended a GOP retreat on Mackinac Island on Saturday and he brought his “eight-vehicle motorcade with him,” which is making news because the island off the tip of northern Michigan banned cars about a hundred years ago:
Vice President Mike Pence leaves the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island Saturday in an eight-vehicle motorcade — the island’s first ever. pic.twitter.com/p0IgewX09K
— Paul Egan (@paulegan4) September 21, 2019
And we’re being told that this is a big deal for people in Michigan:
For those not from MI, you should understand what a huge transgression this is.
Our #MackinacIsland has been a car free haven forever, a piece of history frozen in time. Tell anyone from MI @VP just drove not 1 but 8 CARS on this island & watch their blood boil. #PureMichigan https://t.co/cjfXcygdzO
— Julia Pulver, RN (@VotePulver) September 22, 2019
Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan is particularly upset:
Disgusting. I am in such disbelief that this was allowed to happen. This Administration doesn't care about the law (you know, the U.S. Constitution), so it shouldn't surprise me so much that they don't care about our history or traditions. #MackinacIsland https://t.co/jvyMBCakrG
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) September 22, 2019
And:
Banned for a century people, and here comes the Trump Administration trampling all over it, like they do the U.S. Constitution.
This video of the cars driving on our beautiful #MackinacIsland makes my stomach turn. https://t.co/D8yvHN2Xr0
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) September 22, 2019
“Profoundly stupid” story sums it up nicely:
Hi, I’m from Northern Michigan and I find this manufactured outrage profoundly stupid. https://t.co/tQqbJfiQRy
— Amelia (@AmeliaHammy) September 22, 2019
Critics are saying Gerald Ford didn’t bring a motorcade with him in 1975:
Gerald Ford, 1975, Mackinac Island pic.twitter.com/vSPaw9OMN5
— Thomas Nigel (@TNigel57) September 21, 2019
But as the Detroit Free-Press points out, this is not 1975:
Among the things that have changed since Ford’s visit are the attempt to assassinate him by Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme later that year, the 1981 attempt by John Hinckley Jr. to assassinate President Ronald Reagan, and the 9-11 terror attacks.
Pence has been to Mackinac Island before, we we assume this was a security precaution and not because his office didn’t know about the ban or anything like that:
Remember last time a President rode around in a vehicle with no roof? His name was John F. Kennedy. The Vice President will not ride in a carriage because it’s against protocol and dangerous. We will not let our VP be in danger because snowflakes think he shouldn’t ride in a car
— Beau LaFave (@BeauMattLaFave) September 21, 2019
Also, there are official cars on the island. It’s not totally car-free:
Seriously? There are literally cars on the island all the time. It isn't this snowflake place that faints over the sight of a vehicle. The Secret Service made the call. Why can't Pence visit supporters, wherever they are?
— janet kay (@janetkay2012) September 22, 2019
You realize that law enforcement has cars and other motorized equipment? And once tourist season is over, lots of other cars/trucks/vans come on the island? But sure, go with this. The Secret Service made the call, not Pence.
— janet kay (@janetkay2012) September 22, 2019
And we’ll note that the island is being considered as host for the next G7 summit. Did they think the leaders of all those countries would just get around in horse-drawn buggies?
Grand Hotel, home of the Mackinac Policy Conference, was on the short list for the 2020 G7 Summit. VP Mike Pence is expected to visit @GrandHotelMI next week for the 33rd Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference. Read more: https://t.co/kfNSXE9H5S
— Detroit Chamber (@DetroitChamber) September 14, 2019
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