AUGUSTA, Maine — Somewhere between the downfall of American society and the rebirth of a great nation. That’s the unsurprising spectrum on which Mainers reacted to Friday’s inauguration of Donald Trump.
Chief Ed Endee of the Fort Kent Fire Department is a Trump supporter but said he would have watched Friday’s festivities from Washington, D.C., regardless who was taking the oath.
“It’s a great moment in American history,” said Endee. “It always is no matter who is being sworn in. It involves a lot of patriotism. Whether you like the candidate or not, it’s still a uniquely American condition.”
There were vast contrasts. Hundreds of miles away, in coastal Belfast, about 40 Trump opponents aired their concerns and vowed to fight to protect their rights and the rights of others.
The ceremony started next to a coffin holding a model of the Statue of Liberty, which was brought to its feet by the end. Organizers said it was meant to symbolize that while liberty and democracy were dealt a blow by Trump’s win, it would survive if people stand together.
“None of us have liberty until we all do,” said Peter Baldwin, one of the event’s organizers. “We’re not so much concerned about the person, we’re concerned about the policies and rhetoric of his administration.”
Demonstrators took turns with the megaphone, saying what they planned to work to protect during the coming years — LGBTQ rights, immigrants, minorities, public education, the environment and the free press.
Maine is as politically divided as it has been any time in recent political history, particularly between the liberal southern areas and the more conservative north, which historically handed Trump one of Maine’s four electoral votes in last November’s election.
Endee said Trump is on the right track on policy.
“I see him strengthening our military, which I think has been reduced in strength and stature, and our standing in the world has been reduced,” said Endee. “I see him instituting real immigration change, not throwing people out of our country but strengthening our borders to something manageable where people here are not competing with jobs.”
Some are focused on what a Trump presidency will mean for reproductive rights. Trump is likely to appoint at least two justices to the U.S. Supreme Court and has promised that they will be anti-abortion.
Raychel Warner stood on the damp street Friday outside Planned Parenthood of Northern New England on Congress Street in Portland with a sign that read “Abolish Abortion.” A short, black man perched atop a small foot stool nearby patiently tried to persuade a passer-by that there is no moral difference between abortion and the lynching of black people in the Jim Crow South.
Warner, with her 2-year-old daughter, Ashley, gurgling in a child carrier on her back, said that she hopes that Trump will lead the country in “a godly manner.”
“Like the murder of children could end. That would be great,” Warner said.
Asked if Trump — who has been twice divorced, once after being caught cheating on his wife, and publically accused of sexual assault by several women — seems like he would be a godly leader, Warner seemed uncertain.
“That’s a really …,” she said trailing off. “He says he is.”
Two floors above Warner, Planned Parenthood Vice President of Public Policy Nicole Clegg was more worried about the Republican Congress and House Speaker Paul Ryan’s promise to defund her organization.
“Planned Parenthood has been around for 100 years, and we plan to be around for another 100,” she said.
For some, the inauguration marked a chance to settle down about politics and return to their normal routines.
Brewer Republican Larry Doughty, a former Brewer City Council member, spent part of his morning removing half a dozen Trump campaign signs that have been up for months.
“I don’t need these anymore since it’s official,” he said. “I’m sure my neighbors will be happy these are gone.”
At Bates College in Lewiston, reactions to Trump’s inaugural address were varied.
Oliver Farnum, a Bates sophomore from Marshfield, Massachusetts, said he thought it was “a good sign” that Trump “tried to avoid the divisive rhetoric of his campaign.”
Kayla Jackson of Metuchen, New Jersey, a Bates sophomore, disagreed. She thought Trump’s speech was “laughable.”
“It was funny how he tried to be uniting but disregards how vastly different people experience the law and freedom on a daily basis,” she said.
Marisa Sittheeamorn, a Bates junior from Bangkok, Thailand, said she’s curious to see what happens under a Trump administration, and she is “hopeful people can come together for a better future.”
Some were looking to Trump to fix problems they think were created by Democratic President Barack Obama.
Chantal Hayes of Fort Kent, a Trump supporter, watched the inauguration while having lunch at Swamp Buck restaurant in Fort Kent.
“I am looking forward to the additional support our troops will get with Trump,” she said.
Gretchen Gordon of Pembroke was in Washington, D.C., on Friday because she plans to march Saturday in the Women’s March on Washington, a protest against Trump. She watched Trump’s speech on television.
“I thought it was an over-general tell-’em-what-they- wanna-hear speech addressed to his base rather than a statesman-like speech,” she said. “I didn’t hear much that seemed based in reality judging from the contrast between his ‘everyman’ promises and the corporate billionaires he’s named to his cabinet. [It was a] lot of words that don’t align with actions.”
At the State House, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine hosted a reading of the U.S. Constitution concurrently with the kickoff of inauguration ceremonies in the nation’s capital. The point, according to ACLU of Maine Executive Director Alison Beyea, is that no matter who is president, the Constitution is a constant authority.
Participants included David Trahan, executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, who read the Second and Third amendments, which are the right to bear arms and restrictions of quarter soldiers in private homes, respectively. Trahan, a former Republican senator, said he was proud to participate.
“The political world is a mess right now,” said Trahan. “It appears to be in chaos, but we can always fall back on the words in the U.S. Constitution.”
Some state lawmakers traveled to Washington, D.C., including Assistant House Minority Leader Ellie Espling, R-New Gloucester.
“My initial reaction would be strong words from a strong leader,” said Espling of Trump’s speech. “It’s always a good reminder being here of how our country is so fortunate to have done this transition so many times in a peaceful way. We will all do well to hope for our leaders to be successful.”
Assistant Senate Majority Leader Andre Cushing, R-Newport, agreed.
“The president gave a clear, powerful message as to his vision for the future of our country,” said Cushing. “He appears committed to the promises he made while campaigning to restore American government to the citizens it was meant to represent.”
Bangor Daily News writers Don Eno, Jessica Potila, Jake Bleiberg, Beth Brogan, Nok-Noi Ricker, Nick McCrea, Michael Shepherd and Christopher Cousins contributed to this report.