南卡罗来纳州共和党人南希·梅斯（Nancy Mace）在谈到她曾经热情支持的总统时说：“华盛顿发生的几乎所有事情都不再让我感到惊讶了……”但这次确实令人震惊：“该广告的经费由美国政府提供。”
Nancy Mace a retiring South Carolina Republican, on the president she once enthusiastically supported Introduction/Greeting Very little that happens in Washington surprises me anymore. But this did: “Paid for by the U.S. Government.”
这是2024年竞选广告的文字说明；这条广告被重新制作后，在本周末的橄榄球比赛以及《周六夜现场》（Saturday Night Live）节目中播出。目前，已经有三则类似的广告使用了纳税人的钱来制作，总成本估计超过100万美元。这种行为简直就是维克托·奥尔班（Viktor Orbán）或弗拉基米尔·普京（Vladimir Putin）式的“威权主义”表现——公然利用公共资金来为现任总统造势。
That’s the fine print at the end of a recycled 2024 campaign commercial that aired this weekend during football games and “Saturday Night Live.” Three such ads have now run on the American taxpayer’s dime, at an estimated cost of more than $1 million It’s a move worthy of Viktor Orbán Vladimir Putin Big government at its worst: public money seized to promote the man in charge.
唐纳德·特朗普的支持率一直徘徊在30%左右，他做出了其他总统绝不会做的事：他竟然动用纳税人的钱来支付自己的政治广告费用。
With his approval ratings stuck in the 30s, Donald Trump did something no other president would do. He stole taxpayer dollars to pay for his political ad.
这种行为不仅无助于他的政治目标，反而可能对共和党造成负面影响。
And it won’t even help his cause. In fact, I’d guess it will hurt Republicans.
在广告中，特朗普承诺要“将那些好战分子赶出政府”；然而他仍在对伊朗发动一场看不到结束的战争；他还承诺会降低物价，但此时汽油价格已接近每加仑4.5美元，食品杂货和房租也比以往任何时候都更贵。我们很清楚特朗普为何会这么做……特朗普会做出这种事并不令人意外。但我仍然感到愤慨：为什么保守派会允许政府动用从选民手中征收的税款来资助这些政治广告呢？
In the ad, Trump vows to “expel the warmongers from our government” — while waging a war against Iran with no end in sight. He promises lower prices — while gas nears $4.50 a gallon and groceries and rent cost more than ever. We know why Trump does this. That Trump would do this is not a surprise. But I’m still naive enough to be bothered that conservatives would allow the centralized state to fund a political ad with misappropriated tax dollars seized from their constituents.
这就是社会主义的真相：政府控制企业、在电视上播放威权主义的宣传内容，而最终却让纳税人来承担代价。
This is what socialism looks like:
这种行为不仅对美国的民主制度构成威胁，对共和党候选人来说也是极其糟糕的政治策略。
A government taking over companies, running strongman propaganda on TV, and leaving taxpayers with the bill.
如果共和党不迫使特朗普停止这种“威权主义”行为，选民在11月选举时一定会记住这一点，并选择那些能够真正履行职责的民主党人。
Not only is this dangerous for American democracy, it is just plain bad politics for Republican candidates.
每日民意调查
If the GOP won’t force Trump to quit playing strongman, voters will remember in November – and elect Democrats who will do their jobs.
来源：《华尔街日报》于9月16日至21日对1500名选民进行的调查。误差范围：±2.5%
POLL OF THE DAY Source: Wall Street Journal poll of 1,500ed voters conducted Sept. 16-21. Margin of error: +/-2.5% WHAT THEY SAID Norm Eisen on voters’ views of Trump“The Republican majorities in Congress are supine. They’re Trump’s lapdogs, and they’ve done nothing to stop him. That is a sign of a backsliding democracy, like Orban’s Hungary. But the good news: The public opinion polls show the American people aren’t having it.”
诺姆·艾森谈选民对特朗普的看法：“国会中的共和党多数派表现得极为软弱、毫无反抗能力；他们完全屈从于特朗普的意志，没有采取任何措施来阻止他的不当行为。这正是民主制度衰退的迹象——就像奥尔班的匈牙利一样。不过好消息是，民意调查显示美国民众对此感到非常不满。”
POLL OF THE DAY Source: Wall Street Journal poll of 1,500ed voters conducted Sept. 16-21. Margin of error: +/-2.5% WHAT THEY SAID Norm Eisen on voters’ views of Trump“The Republican majorities in Congress are supine. They’re Trump’s lapdogs, and they’ve done nothing to stop him. That is a sign of a backsliding democracy, like Orban’s Hungary. But the good news: The public opinion polls show the American people aren’t having it.”
乔纳森·莱米尔谈中期选举：“虽然还有机会在10月带来意外结果，但目前共和党人非常担心自己可能会遭遇惨败。他们觉得一场‘蓝色浪潮’（即民主党的大胜）即将来临；而且无论特朗普做了什么，不仅没有起到任何积极作用，反而严重损害了他们的选举前景。”
Jonathan Lemire on the midterms“There is still time for an October surprise. But as of this moment, Republicans are deathly afraid that this could be a wipeout. They feel like a blue wave is coming, and they feel like whatever the president has done — not only has it not worked, it’s actively hurt their chances.”
大卫·伊格纳修斯谈本雅明·内塔尼亚胡：“自9·11事件以来，内塔尼亚胡一直拒绝配合任何调查。而作为一个成熟、治理良好的国家，我们应该像那样展开彻底的调查（不设任何限制）。但在以色列，这种情况从未发生过；所有相关报告都被压制了。总有一天，真相一定会大白，届时以色列人民一定会感到震惊。”
David Ignatius on Benjamin Netanyahu“Netanyahu has consistently resisted an effort like ours after 9/11, where we were shaken as a country, and did what a mature well-run country does: We investigated, no holds barred. And that hasn’t happened in Israel yet. Each of those reports is suppressed. At some point, there is going to be an investigation, and it’s going to shock Israelis deeply.”
额外热点：自劳动节以来，特朗普大约发布了多少次关于建筑翻新、湖泊更名以及媒体不公正报道的言论？共和党人担心特朗普在筹备中期选举时把注意力放在了“错误的事情”上……
EXTRA HOT TEA Roughly how many times Trump has posted about building renovations, renaming lakes, and unfair press coverage since Labor Day, as Republicans worry the president is focused on the “wrong things” heading into the midterms The post“The midterms are going to be a f–––ing bloodbath … we all know why”: Nancy Mace MS NOW
相关帖子：“中期选举将会是一场惨烈的“混战”……我们都知道原因。”——南希·梅斯（Nancy Mace）
EXTRA HOT TEA Roughly how many times Trump has posted about building renovations, renaming lakes, and unfair press coverage since Labor Day, as Republicans worry the president is focused on the “wrong things” heading into the midterms The post“The midterms are going to be a f–––ing bloodbath … we all know why”: Nancy Mace MS NOW