22nd September, 2019
US Vice President Pence has been the butt of criticism after his eight-vehicle motorcade entered on Saturday Mackinac Island, Michigan, where vehicles are banned.
Pence arrived for the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference on Saturday.
Mackinac Island, is a city with a population of around 500 people, according to the 2010 census. It is known for its ban on vehicles, with the ban taking effect in the late 19th century.
According to the Detroit Free Press, the vice president’s motorcade is the first ever to arrive in the community, where residents generally commute by bike or snowmobile in colder weather. However, residents can be granted a temporary vehicle permit in certain circumstances.
However, the sight of the vice president’s motorcade on Mackinac Island prompted some criticism from local Democratic leaders.
Former state Senate candidate Julia Pulver (D) tweeted a video of the vice president’s motorcade and wrote, “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,” she added.
Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib said she’s in “disbelief” Vice President Pence was accompanied by an eight-car motorcade during his visit to an island in her home state where vehicles are banned.
“Disgusting. I am in such disbelief that this was allowed to happen,” the freshman representative tweeted.
“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,” she added.
Read more in The Hill.com