TURNER — With Maine increasingly seen as a battleground state in the U.S. presidential election, Eric Trump came to the state Thursday to tout his father, Donald Trump, the Republican Party candidate.
After accusing the Democrats of “running the country into the ground,” Donald Trump’s second son said his father is “going to return prosperity to this country.”
Trump and his wife, Lara, managed to find time to sample some apples, admire horses and livestock, tour a petting zoo and pose for innumerable photographs during their afternoon tour of the 2nd Congressional District.
The Trumps spoke at two afternoon rallies in the area, first at Ricker Hill Orchards in Turner and later at the Republican headquarters in Auburn before heading to Bangor for one final event.
“For Trump to come here is huge,” said Patti Gagne, chairwoman of the Androscoggin County Republicans. She said the GOP has a good shot at winning the state by pushing for gun rights, lower taxes, less regulation and more opportunities for small business.
“The Trumps know that Maine’s in play,” state Sen. Garrett Mason, R-Lisbon, said.
Against a backdrop of splendid fall foliage at the orchard, Gov. Paul LePage called himself a deplorable, picking up on a phrase used by Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton recently to describe “half of Trump’s supporters.”
Eddie Twitchell of Turner said she donned a “Proud To Be Deplorable” shirt for the rally because Clinton’s barb, which the candidate later apologized for using, “made us all, the majority who do not support her, feel like we’re ignorant.”
Buckfield resident Phillip Bray said that once enough people see through Clinton, she’s going to lose Maine on Nov. 8, putting at least three of the state’s four electoral votes in the Trump column.
LePage, who said the majority of Americans are also deplorables, said, “I don’t understand how any American citizen can vote for the opposition.”
With Trump at the helm, the candidate’s son said, “America is going to come first again,” with a stronger military, a “much better” health care system, improved education, restored manufacturing and more.
Trump’s national field coordinator, Matt Mowers, said the campaign has a strong organization in the state that is finding many enthusiastic volunteers. He said the Democratic get-out-the-vote effort is much less visible, adding to GOP hopes of capturing Maine.
“The enthusiasm on the other side is not even close,” Eric Trump said.
For Auburn seventh-grader Gage Gary, there’s no doubt who should come out on top come Election Day. Gary gave the candidate’s son a handwritten letter for his father that “basically summed up why I want Trump to win.”
“He’s such a strong, good leader,” Gary said.
Lara Trump, who married into the family two years ago, said the private Donald Trump isn’t the same as the skilled performer who takes the stage at giant rallies across the country.
She said Trump is soft-spoken, “looks you in the eye” and is thoroughly engaging. She said it was intimidating to join the family fold, but Trump proved so kind that she quickly felt comfortable.
Lara Trump said the family is so close that they all often vacation together and spend holidays in each other’s company as well.
State Rep. Jeff Timberlake, R-Turner, who owns the orchard that’s been in his family since 1803, said he was eager to talk to Eric Trump about the hardships faced by his family business and many others.
Trump, he said, “wants to get government out of my business” and halt unfair trade agreements that have hindered its growth.
“They make farmers’ lives hell,” Trump agreed as the two conversed beside a barn. “They make small businesses’ lives hell.”
Democrats doubt Donald Trump’s apparent failure to pay federal income taxes for nearly two decades will resonate with Maine residents “known for their relentless work ethic,” said Phil Bartlett, state Democratic party chairman.
In an emailed statement, Bartlett said Trump’s tax plan “would provide a windfall to his family while working Mainers would pick up an even bigger tab. Eric Trump and his family embody the very reason working Mainers get left behind. His values do not represent the people of Maine.”
The Trump campaign is eager to take advantage of Maine’s unusual method of allocating its electoral votes. The overall winner in the state will get two votes in the 535-member Electoral College, while one vote will go to the winner in each congressional district.
Donald Trump has a shot at winning the 2nd District and at least an outside shot at winning the state as a whole, which could hand him as many as three electoral votes from Maine.
Though Maine reporters were able to talk to rallygoers, a CBC news crew from Canada was thrown out of the Auburn rally after it refused to follow rules that barred interviews inside, organizers said.
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