两名民主党参议员要求得到解释：有报道称，美国国土安全部（DHS）的资金被用于制作宣传特朗普总统的电视广告。
Two Democratic senators are demanding answers following reports that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funds were used to run TV s promoting President Trump.
在周二致国土安全部部长马克韦恩·穆林（Markwayne Mullin）的信中，参议员帕蒂·默里（Patty Murray，华盛顿州）和克里斯·墨菲（Chris Murphy，康涅狄格州）要求他在48小时内回答有关这些资金使用情况的几个问题。
In a Tuesday letter addressed to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Sens.
“美国人民有权知道：这位总统是如何利用他们的税款来播放自我宣传的广告的——而他却对改善人们的医疗保健和住房问题毫无作为的，”民主党参议员们在信中写道。
Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) asked him to address several questions regarding the use of the funds within 48 hours.
“这些广告必须立即停止播放；纳税人应该为这种‘盗窃’行为得到赔偿；所有负责这种腐败、非法宣传行为的人都必须为此负责，”他们继续强调。
“The American people deserve answers about how this president is literally stealing their tax dollars to air campaign ads celebrating himself — while doing nothing to help them afford health care or housing,” the Democrats wrote.
这段30秒长的广告中，特朗普宣称：“让我们共同努力，击败美国的共产主义、社会主义和马克思主义。”背景音乐是JMSN乐队演唱的《Love Me》。
“These ads need to immediately come off the air, taxpayers need to be paid back for this theft, and everyone responsible needs to be held accountable for this corrupt and illegal propaganda,” they continued. The 30-second ad features Trump saying, “Together, we will defeat communism, socialism and Marxism in America” while the song “Love Me” by JMSN plays in the background.
该广告引发了民主党和共和党议员的批评；众议员杰米·拉斯金（Jamie Raskin，马里兰州）指出，该广告违反了《哈奇法案》（Hatch Act）。
The commercial has drawn criticism from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, with Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) saying the ad violated the Hatch Act.
默里和墨菲在信中还要求国土安全部部长详细说明这些资金的具体使用情况，并提供有关资金转账负责人的信息。
In the letter, Murray and Murphy asked the DHS secretary to provide a breakdown of how department funds were used in the production of the TV spots and for more information about who directed the fund transfer.
根据政治广告追踪机构AdImpact的估计，美国政府已花费超过170万美元在全国电视网络上播放这些广告。
The lawmakers cited an estimate from AdImpact, a political ad-tracking firm, that the administration has spent more than $1.7 million to run these ads on national TV networks.
当被要求发表评论时，美国国土安全部（DHS）将《The Hill》的询问转交给了白宫。白宫在一份声明中为这些广告辩护，称它们属于“公共服务公告”，并严厉批评了对这些广告的批评行为，称其“极其不诚实”。声明中写道：“这些公告显然不是竞选广告；特朗普总统并未参与选举，也没有任何呼吁民众采取行动的内容。相反，这些公告旨在提醒美国人要热爱自己的国家，并让他们明白为何需要为这个国家辩护——无论是在国内、边境还是海外。”
When reached for comment, DHS referred The Hill to a White House statement defending these commercials as “public service announcements” and slamming criticism of these ads “highly dishonest.”“The announcements are very clearly not campaign ads; President Trump is not on the ballot and there is no call to action,” the statement reads. “Instead, the announcements are a reminder for Americans to love their country and know why it’s worth defending — at home, at the border and abroad.”
特朗普总统多次呼吁选民在中期选举时“假装”他仍在参选。他还承诺，如果共和党在今年秋季能够继续控制国会两院，他将向每位美国成年人支付5000美元。
The president has repeatedly called on voters to “pretend” that he is “on the ballot” this November when going to cast their ballots in the midterm elections. Trump also promised to pay out $5,000 to every American adult if the GOP maintains its control of both chambers of Congress this fall.
民主党人认为特朗普政府对这些广告的辩护“既荒谬又具有冒犯性”，并在他们的信中引用了最近一位共和党议员的反对意见。他们写道：“白宫没有回答我们关于这些资金的来源以及谁应该对此负责的最基本问题。但原则其实很简单：正如一位共和党参议员所说：‘你不能用公共资金来为自己做宣传。’”周日，路易斯安那州共和党参议员约翰·肯尼迪在接受CBS新闻节目《Face the Nation》主持人玛格丽特·布伦南的采访时表示，特朗普和其他公职人员“不应该用公共资金为自己制作私人广告”。
The Democrats called the Trump administration’s defense of the new ads “as absurd as it is offensive” and cited recent opposition from a GOP lawmaker in their letter. “The White House has failed to answer our most basic questions about where these funds are coming from and who is responsible, but the principle here is very straightforward: as one Republican senator put it: ‘you can’t spend public money to promote yourself,’” they wrote. On Sunday, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La) told CBS News’s “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan that Trump and other public officials should not “spend public money on private ads for themselves.”
这位来自路易斯安那州的共和党参议员表示：“白宫的看法可能不同，但事实就是：你不能用公共资金来为自己做宣传。”
“The White House sees it differently, but … you can’t spend public money to promote yourself,” the Louisiana Republican said.