VP Mike Pence caused outrage by driving his motorcade through a car-free pristine vacation destination island — here's what happened
Malachi Barrett/MLive.com/YouTube
A video of Vice President Mike Pence traveling by motorcade on the historically car-free Mackinac Island in Michigan has been causing outrage on social media.
Mackinac has been car-free since 1901, and Pence is reportedly the first government official to have traveled by car on the island.
A video of Vice President Mike Pence traveling by an eight-car motorcade on the historically car-free Mackinac Island in Michigan has been causing outrage on social media.
The motorcade was delivered to the island via ferry ahead of the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference event, which took place on the island that has largely been preserved as a state park.
"It was our honor to transport [Pence's] emergency vehicles to Mackinac Island this weekend," Shepler's Ferry, the ferry provider that transported the motorcade, tweeted.
"Regardless of your political views, we hope you'll understand the logistical intricacies involved in securing our leaders while visiting," the tweet continued. "We were happy to assist."
The island enacted vehicle bans in 1901 that is still in effect today because the presence of cars on the island were "noisy and belched stinky fumes" and scared the horses, according to the Star Tribune. Exceptions of the ban include construction, police, and emergency vehicles.
Pence is the first government official to disrupt Mackinac Island's carless tradition, according to The New York Times. Former President Gerald R. Ford visited the island in 1975, but rode a horse-drawn carriage around the island instead.
Take a look at the island and the motorcade that has "fouled (the) paradise":
Vice President Mike Pence traveled by motorcade on Mackinac Island on Saturday in the middle of Lake Huron in Michigan to the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference.
Youtube/WXYZ-TV Detroit | Channel 7
The island has been historically car-free since 1901.
Library of Congress
The island enacted the vehicle ban because the presence of cars on the island were “noisy, and belched stinky fumes” and scared the horses, according to the Star Tribune.
Malachi Barrett/MLive.com/YouTube
Pence is the first government official to violate Mackinac Island’s carless tradition, according to The New York Times.
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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
Multiple videos of Pence's arrival in his motorcade was captured by local news outlets and posted on social media, where they quickly went viral.
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For Pence, eight cars were transported to the island via Shepler’s Ferry.
Shepler's Ferry
Shepler’s Ferry is the official ferry provider of the biennial Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference, according to the company's website.
Shepler's Ferry
“It was our honor to transport [Pence’s] emergency vehicles to Mackinac Island this weekend,” Shepler’s Ferry tweeted following the transport.
Shepler's Ferry
“Banned for a century people, and here comes the Trump Administration trampling all over it, like they do the U.S. Constitution,” Democratic US Rep. Rashida Talib, who is from Detroit, tweeted in criticism of Pence.
Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The main form of transportation on the island is by foot, bike, or horse, according to The New York Times.
Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Over 80% of the island is preserved as a state park, according to Mackinac.com.
Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Almost one million people visit the Island annually and is known as one of the “most precious natural resources in Michigan.”
Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
There are some exceptions to the island’s vehicle ban.
Jay Clarke/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Construction, police, and emergency vehicles are allowed.
Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
President Gerald R. Ford visited the island in 1975 and rode in a horse-drawn "motorcade" around the island, according to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum.
National Archives Catalog
“Not even the Secret Service could get the people of Mackinac Island to back down on their ban on motorized vehicles,” Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library 's now-former Photo Archivist Ken Hafeli wrote about Ford’s visit to Mackinac Island.
Terri Colby/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Shepler's pointed out in a follow-up tweet that it ferries other vehicles to the island, including media vehicles for events.
Source: Twitter
