Dozens of protestors gathered in opposition to Vice President JD Vance's visit to Bangor International Airport today.
Amanda McGonigle is from Massachusetts and runs a social media account making fun of JD Vance. She said she had officially registered for the event but was turned away at the door.
"They're like, since it's a private event, you cannot attend. And I said, you guys sent me the registration, like, the registration info, and they're like, yeah, but we know where you stand, so you can't come in," McGonigle said.
McGonigle said if she had been allowed in, she would have stood up and spoken out against Vance to his face.
"The fact that this administration can't handle even the slightest bit of criticism is laughable. So if I have the opportunity to go and tell a member of the administration to their face that I think they're hurting our country and hurting our black and brown communities and hurting our queer youth, like I'm going to do it," McGonigle said.
McGonigle said she plans to spend the rest of her day protesting.
Jessica D'Amico from Belfast said she came out to show JD Vance that he is not welcome in Maine.
"In particular, that he is not welcome to come and say there is fraud going on here while trying to rob our state of federal funding for Medicare and Medicaid," D'Amico said.
D'Amico said she is particularly frustrated because the state is already suffering from the closure of rural hospitals and healthcare centers.
