BANGOR — Donald Trump coupled attacks on Hillary Clinton with promises to rebuild America’s manufacturing base, end illegal immigration and revitalize the military in a noisy rally Saturday at Cross Insurance Center.
About 3,500 to 4,000 supporters cheered him on with chants of “U.S.A.” interspersed with an occasional “Lock her up,” as he attacked Clinton on a range of topics from trade policy to the war in the Middle East.
Trump also stuck with his full-throated attack on the mainstream media, saying the recent accusations against him by several women who say he made unwelcome sexual advances toward them were fabrications.
The 30-minute stump speech was short by Trump standards and was not disrupted by any protesters as he repeated the themes of his campaign and largely followed a script from an appearance hours earlier at a rally in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
The most visible evidence of conflict may have been in the arena parking lot, where about a dozen cars, presumably belonging to people who attended the rally, were damaged with white spray paint while the event was taking place.
As Trump spoke, the crowd cheered his promises to protect gun rights under the 2nd Amendment and improve the incomes of working-class Mainers with better-paying jobs, more manufacturing and income tax cuts.
“We need to protect the 2nd Amendment, which they don’t want to do,” Trump said of his opponent.
Gov. Paul LePage, a loyal Trump supporter who has introduced the candidate at previous Maine rallies, was not at the rally. Peter Steele, LePage’s communications director, said the governor was attending homecoming ceremonies at the University of Maine at Orono, which had been scheduled before the Trump event.
Steele said the homecoming event was an annual “family tradition” and LePage’s absence did not imply any lessening of support for Trump.
“His support for Trump continues to be strong,” Steele wrote in an email message to the Maine Sunday Telegram.
EYES ON ELECTORAL COLLEGE PRIZE
The appearance in Bangor, one of the two population centers for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, highlighted the campaign’s hope it can win at least one of Maine’s four Electoral College votes by winning the district in November.
Maine is one of only two states that splits its electoral college votes based on congressional districts, with the winner in each district getting one vote and the winner of the state receiving the remaining two.
Trump made an effort to localize his message, criticizing President Obama for his recent decision to name a large portion of Maine’s North Woods near Millinocket the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.
Trump said local concerns were not addressed, and that “Obama and Clinton don’t care that this area badly needs jobs and growth” which the monument does not provide.
Trump also promised to end the state and region’s ongoing opioid overdose crisis, saying that his plans to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico would stem the flow of heroin, which he said was “pouring into Maine.”
He also promised expanded treatment for addicts.
Trump vowed to be a unifying force in the White House and made assurances to minorities that he would fight for them equally.
“I’m going to be a president for all of our citizens, all of our citizens. I’m going to bring us together,” Trump said.
He also leveled a new charge against federal law enforcement officials in the U.S. Justice Department and FBI, claiming that they were part of a conspiracy that was allowing Clinton to get away with crimes that would have landed anybody else in jail.
“Instead of being held accountable, Hillary is running for president in what looks to many people like a rigged election,” he said, claiming that the media was complicit in supporting Clinton. “This is a rigged system, folks, but we are not going to let it happen.”
CALL FOR PRE-DEBATE DRUG TEST
Trump has repeated his claim that the election is rigged numerous times since he began facing accusations of sexual misconduct with numerous women and his standing in the polls has begun to slip.
The Clinton campaign issued a statement Saturday contesting Trump’s charges.
“Campaigns should be hard-fought and elections hard-won, but what is fundamental about the American electoral system is that it is free, fair and open to the people,” said Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook. “Participation in the system – and particularly voting – should be encouraged, not dismissed or undermined because a candidate is afraid he’s going to lose.”
In his speech in Portsmouth, Trump implied that Clinton had been on drugs during the last debate. “I think she’s actually getting pumped up, you want to know the truth,” he said, in reference to Clinton’s debate preparations.
“I think we should take a drug test prior to the debate, ’cause I don’t know what’s going on with her,” Trump said.
Trump offered no evidence to support the bizarre claim, the Associated Press reported, which he appeared to base on his belief Clinton was energetic at the start of their second debate and downbeat at its conclusion.
In Bangor, Trump’s supporters said they were sticking with the billionaire businessman who told them, among other things, that if he didn’t win they would lose their once-in-a-lifetime chance to take the country back.
“You are going to look back at this time for the rest of your life,” Trump said to a loud applause and cheers.
Many also seemed to agree that the election was rigged, some saying that even if Trump wins, they believe the election system in the U.S. is rigged and corrupted with money from corporate donors and other special interests.
“We can’t take four more years of Hillary,” said Bob Frazier, 65, of Madison. His friend Troy Laney, 55, of Starks, said he’s been a Trump supporter “since he came down the escalator at Trump Tower.”
Laney said he was previously a Democrat, but Trump prompted him to switch parties because it had become apparent to him the system was corrupt. “He looks you right in the eye and tells you how it is,” Laney said.
The stop in Maine was Trump’s fourth since he announced he would run for president in 2015.
As people streamed out of the arena, vendors were shouting “Deplorable lives matter!” and “Lock her up!”
Codey Modeen, 19, of Bar Harbor, will cast his first presidential vote for Trump.
“Freedom isn’t free,” he said. “It’s not a country without borders.”
FANS DISMISS ALLEGATIONS
Shelley Largay, 48, of Holden, brought her 11-year-old daughter Sophia to the rally. She is supportive of immigrants, she said, but wants them to enter the country legally.
“We have plenty of our own people here that need so much help,” Largay, who has a job with a nonprofit social work agency, said. “(Clinton) would just open the borders and let people in.”
Comments caught on tape about Trump’s treatment of women didn’t change her mind: “I don’t know anyone that doesn’t talk like that once in their life.”
But Maine Democrats convened a small news conference just before Trump’s plane touched down in Bangor to call attention to Trump’s treatment of women. Their supporters and other protesters waved signs that read: “America is better than Trump,” “I do not consent,” and “No place for racism.”
“We need a president who is civil and respectful of the discourse of women and men,” said Democratic Attorney General Janet Mills.
However, voters like Jennifer Moody, 46, of Penobscot, said they didn’t believe all the recent allegations against the candidate and that they couldn’t stomach the notion of a continuation of the policies of President Obama.
Moody, a rural postal carrier, said Trump’s largest selling point is “He’s not Hillary.” She also said Trump’s outsider status made him attractive as a candidate, although she previously supported both Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.
Both Moody and another Trump supporter, Randall Bryant, 66, of Searsmont, also said they believed Trump is right to claim the election is being rigged by the establishment and the media.
Moody said he trusted Trump far more than any of the establishment politicians, including other Republicans.
“He doesn’t lie, he doesn’t live in a land of rainbows and cotton candy, he’s straightforward,” Bryant said. “He’s not going to sit around and sing, ‘Kumbaya.’ He’s going to get off his ass and do something.”
Gad and Noreen Liebmann of Belfast said they are backing Trump because they’re worried about who Hillary Clinton might appoint to the Supreme Court. “If Hillary appoints Supreme Court justices, the Constitution won’t be worth more than toilet paper,” Gad Liebmann said.
Concerns about Clinton and how she would deal with terrorism are a concern for Elizabeth and Scott Haver of Fairfield.
“If Hillary gets in, it’s four more years of corruption,” Elizabeth Haver said. “We think Donald Trump is our only hope.”
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