Blanchard says Chicago was ‘not ready’ for DNC amid significant entry delays

Delegates attending the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Ill., face significant delays entering the United Center on Aug. 19, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

Former Michigan Gov. Jim Blanchard said Monday that Chicago appeared to be “not ready” to host the Democratic National Convention (DNC), as attendees faced significant delays entering the United Center for the first night of programming.

President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Michigan Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak), UAW President Shawn Fain and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) all spoke. And Vice President Kamala Harris surprised attendees by giving opening day remarks and joining Biden and first lady Jill Biden on stage following his emotional remarks.

Shuttles were ordered around 5 p.m. CT not to allow any passengers to exit the vehicles as they came to an almost complete standstill for nearly an hour, with a line of buses stretching at least a mile.

The delays were first caused by a large group of protestors near the checkpoint where vehicles pass through security, leading Secret Service to close the gates and not allow anyone in until they were able to move protestors from that area, an officer on one bus said.

But some passengers did manage to exit their buses — only to be met by another roadblock when they were not allowed to cross the street leading to the entrance for several minutes.

Eventually, when they did, they were met with a sea of attendees in a line that would only move a couple inches every few minutes as security checked credentials at three separate points before trying to organize the massive crowd into a single-file line.

By the time he reached the security checkpoint, Blanchard said, he had waited two-and-a-half hours.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Blanchard said, reflecting on his years of attending the national conventions.

Blanchard, a former congressman, served as Michigan governor from 1983 to 1991. He also was the U.S. ambassador to Canada during the Clinton administration. In July, Blanchard did an event at Michigan State University with current Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, interviewing her about her first book, “True Gretch.”

download <\/a> and watch with your favorite video player! <\/video>"}},"inView":false,"email_subject":"Check out this awesome image !!","email_message":"Here is the link to the image : %%image_link%% and this is the link to the gallery : %%gallery_link%%","lightbox":"direct"}" id="jtg-77186">

Delegates attending the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Ill., face significant delays entering the United Center on Aug. 19, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

Michigan's delegation to the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Ill., cheers as state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, speaks about Project 2025 and former President Donald Trump's re-election bid on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

The United Center in Chicago, where the Democratic National Convention is being held. (Photo by Jacob Fischler/States Newsroom)

The North Carolina delegation at the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 19, 2024 | Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX