Nancy Ganem-Bond says she knew Donald Trump would become the 45th president of the United States the day he announced he would run.

“When he walked down the escalator, I called it right from the beginning,” Ganem-Bond said. “I was like, ‘He’s going to run, he’s going to win, he’s going to do a great job.’ ”

A Shapleigh resident and Scarborough native, Ganem-Bond, 54, has been on the Trump train for more than two years now, and on Friday it is taking her to Washington, where the man who she believes will lead America to greater prosperity will take the oath of office.

She will be among dozens of Mainers, including high-profile politicians such as Maine Gov. Paul LePage and outgoing Maine Republican Party Chairman Rick Bennett, attending the inauguration and related activities in the nation’s capital.

Ganem-Bond, who ran her janitorial service during the day and worked as a volunteer for Trump’s Maine campaign at nights and on weekends, said her fellow travelers are almost like a new family, formed from their mutual support of the firebrand billionaire businessman who defied his critics, establishment Republicans and the polls to win the White House.

Ganem-Bond said Trump’s victory and her trip to witness his inauguration have put her “totally over the moon.”

“The people who are going down to it, we’ve all formed this new friendship based on working for the movement – the Trump train,” Ganem-Bond said. “It’s such an honor to be able to go down and stand there while he takes the oath of office.”

BRIMMING WITH CONFIDENCE

Ganem-Bond said she’s met Trump several times, beginning in 1987 when she was working at a bookstore and he was there promoting his book “The Art of the Deal.” She said that even then, people were talking about a Trump presidency, and she could see why. “It was really interesting to follow him,” Ganem-Bond said. “I’m really proud and I really believe he will unite our country and he will make common-sense decisions and bring our country together. I’m really excited about it and people are excited about it.”

She said just knowing Trump is taking the helm has boosted her confidence as a small-business owner, so much so that she doubled the bonuses she gives to her five employees.

Brad Littlefield, of Scarborough, helped organize the small group that Ganem-Bond is traveling with. Like other Trump supporters in Maine, he’s pleased to take part in a historic moment.

“For all of us going down, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime – maybe we will do it again – opportunity,” Littlefield said. “We are anxious to see the peaceful transition of power that our country is known for.”

Littlefield, who also worked as a key volunteer on Trump’s Maine campaign, said he was drawn to Trump because he was outside the mainstream and genuine.

“He’s not the typical Republican partisan,” Littlefield said.

He said Trump was able to win Maine’s 2nd District and one of the state’s four Electoral College votes because both Democrats and Republicans are sick of business as usual.

“The reason people elected him is because they were tired of party politics, they wanted an outsider,” he said.

Littlefield also predicts Trump is going to surprise many of his critics, and probably anger some of his supporters, when he crafts deals with Democrats on issues such as health care. But Littlefield believes that at his core, Trump will be a conservative president, including nominating a U.S. Supreme Court justice who will probably be loathed by the left and loved by the right.

HUNDREDS OF INAUGURAL BALLS

The Maine group plans to attend a concert Thursday at the Lincoln Memorial, the inaugural parade and inauguration on Friday, and then one of the hundreds of inaugural balls Friday night. Ganem-Bond said the group has tickets to Friday’s military-themed ball at the National Harbor MGM Grand Hotel.

The governor’s daughter, Lauren LePage of Waterville, worked as Maine coalitions director for the Trump campaign and is flying to Washington on Thursday. She said being able to attend was a good way of seeing everyone’s “hard work pan out.”

“It’s just rewarding to see that,” she said. “And it’s a once-a-lifetime experience.”

LePage, 28, is in her final year at the University of Maine School of Law and works as executive director of Maine People Before Politics, an advocacy group formed to advance her father’s agenda. She is most looking forward to hearing Trump’s speech and sharing the moment with other Maine residents.

“I’m hoping that this is an opportunity to reset the tone after the election and an opportunity for the nation to come together,” LePage said.

EARLY TRUMP BACKER OUTNUMBERED

Other high-profile Mainers attending the inauguration include state Rep. Ellie Espling, R-New Gloucester. Espling, assistant minority leader in the Maine House, is also a Republican national committeewoman for Maine. State Sen. Andre Cushing, R-Newport, and the assistant minority leader in the Senate, will also be at the inauguration and related celebrations, as will former state Rep. Alex Willette. Willette, who lives in Lewiston and works as an assistant district attorney, will be there in his role as a Republican national committeeman from Maine.

Willette is among the few Maine Republican Party members who sided with Trump early. He recalled that at the party’s state convention in March, he was outnumbered by Republicans who were supporting Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s bid for the party’s nomination. Cruz ended up winning the support of Maine’s Republicans, with Trump coming in second.

Willette said he was pleased to be on hand at the party’s national convention last June when Trump accepted the nomination. He said Maine Republicans have largely rallied around Trump, and he is proud to be going to Washington.

Willette, 27, said that for the first time in his life, the presidential candidate he voted for is actually going to become president. “It’s a great finish to a very long campaign and exciting to see,” he said.

Willette, who is originally from Maine’s largest and northernmost county, Aroostook, said he’s even more proud knowing the state’s rural 2nd District supported Trump.

“It’s been really something to see how he’s caught that demographic and is really focused on bring manufacturing jobs back to rural America,” Willette said. “As a Mainer who grew up in rural Maine, getting the opportunity to watch him get sworn in – it’s a pretty big deal.”

‘THIS MARKS A TURNING POINT’

Brent Littlefield, a political adviser for LePage who also worked on the successful election and re-election campaigns of 2nd District congressman Bruce Poliquin, lives in the Washington area and plans to be at Trump’s inauguration.

Littlefield also grew up in Maine’s 2nd District and is pleased with the region’s steady and growing support of Republican candidates like LePage, Poliquin and now Trump.

“Any time there is an inauguration it’s always a moment in history and you are always making history to be there – it’s exciting to attend,” Littlefield said. He said even those watching from home on television will feel they are witnessing something important.

“As a nation, this marks a turning point,” he said. “A moment in history.”

Morning Sentinel Staff Writer Colin Ellis contributed to this report.

Scott Thistle can be contacted at 791-6330 or at:

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