说到美国大使，唐纳德·特朗普面临两个相当广泛的问题。第一个问题是，总统尚未提名足够多的人选担任关键外交职位。
When it comes to U.S. ambassadors, Donald Trump has two broad problems. The first is that the president hasn’t nominated enough people to serve in key diplomatic posts.
这并不是因为暮气沉沉的参议院难以批准提名人选；事实上之所以出现职位空缺，是因为白宫根本懒得提名任何人。即便国际社会动荡不安，美国在阿拉伯联合酋长国、德国、伊拉克，甚至委内瑞拉等许多国家都没有派驻大使。但问题的另一部分同样值得关注：在太多已经由参议院确认的大使任职案例中，他们的表现并不理想。
This isn’t due to a sclerotic Senate struggling to confirm nominees; rather, there are vacancies because the White House hasn’t bothered to nominate anyone. Even in the midst of international turmoil, the United States doesn’t have ambassadors in the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Iraq or even Venezuela, among many other countries But the other part of the problem is just as notable: In too many instances, where there are Senate-confirmed ambassadors, their tenures are not going well.
《华尔街日报》报道称，参议院和众议院外交事务委员会的民主党高层人士敦促国务院审查美国驻希腊大使金伯莉·吉尔福伊尔的行为。该报曾调查她为推动一家希腊公司在东南欧各地达成天然气交易而采取的行动。
The Wall Street Journal reported The top Democrats on the Senate and House foreign affairs committees urged the State Department to review the conduct of Kimberly Guilfoyle, the U.S. ambassador to Greece, citing a Wall Street Journal investigation into her efforts to promote gas deals with a Greek company across southeastern Europe.
新罕布什尔州联邦参议员珍妮·沙欣是参议院外交关系委员会首席民主党议员。她在周四致国务卿马可·鲁比奥的信中表达了担忧，称吉尔福伊尔“不当地利用公职”，其中包括让一名说客参加与外国官员的会面，以及为该说客的一名希腊客户及其与一家希腊政府支持的公司成立的合资企业争取利益。
New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, described concerns in a Thursday letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio about Guilfoyle’s “inappropriate uses of an official position,” including her inclusion of aed lobbyist in meetings with foreign officials and her promotion of one of the lobbyist’s Greek clients and its joint venture with a Greek state-backed company.
两周前，《华尔街日报》首次报道了吉尔福伊尔在希腊充满争议的任期。她曾任福克斯新闻撰稿人，也曾是小唐纳德·特朗普的未婚妻。她工作中最令人诟病的问题之一，是带说客克里斯托斯·马拉法措斯参加了过多官方会议，“以至于一些外国官员误以为他是她的幕僚长”。同一篇报道还称，这位美国大使一直为马拉法措斯的雇主、希腊建筑公司阿克托集团争取能源交易项目，令该地区官员困惑不解。
It was two weeks ago when the Journal first reported on Guilfoyle, a former Fox News contributor who is also Donald Trump Jr.’s former fiancée, and her controversial tenure in Greece. Among the most problematic elements of her work has been Guilfoyle bringing lobbyist Christos Marafatsos to so many official meetings “that some foreign officials mistook him for her chief of staff.”The same report added that the U.S. ambassador has promoted Marafatsos’ employer, Greek construction firm Aktor Group, for energy deals, to the puzzlement of officials in the region.
在那份报告之后，沙欣致信鲁比奥，认为“此类行为无益于美国在海外的信誉，并可能损害美国的外交工作。”这位来自新罕布什尔州的民主党人要求美国国务院阐明“已经采取了以及将采取哪些措施，以避免不当影响，甚至避免利益冲突的表象。”
After that report, Shaheen wrote to Rubio, arguing that “such actions do not serve U.S. credibility overseas and risk undermining U.S. diplomacy.”The New Hampshire Democrat requested that the State Department outline “what steps have and will be taken to avoid undue influence and even the appearance of a conflict of interest.”
同样，纽约州众议员格雷戈里·米克斯——众议院外交事务委员会的民主党首席成员——也补充道：“如果这些报道属实，那么吉尔夫奥伊大使就不适合代表美国在国外任职，应该被免职。”这场争议最终会如何发展尚待观察——美国驻希腊大使馆的一名官员表示，吉尔夫奥伊“始终遵循美国国务院的所有道德准则”，并且“任何暗示她违反道德准则的说法都是完全错误的”——但同样值得强调的是，她绝非共和党政府中唯一引发争议的驻外大使。
Similarly, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, added, “If these reports are accurate, Ambassador Guilfoyle is unfit to represent the United States abroad and should be removed from her position.”Time will tell what, if anything, comes of the controversy — a U.S. Embassy official in Greece said that Guilfoyle “continues to follow all State Department ethical guidelines” and that “any insinuation that she was operating outside of ethical guidelines are categorically false” — but it’s also worth emphasizing that she’s hardly the only ambassador from the Republican administration who’s causing controversy.
今年早些时候，南非外交部长召见了大使L·布伦特·博泽尔三世，此前他指责南非政府歧视白人，并对该国法院的判决表示漠不关心。
In South Africa Ambassador L. Brent Bozell III, was summoned earlier this year by the country’s foreign minister after he accused the government of discriminating against white people and expressed indifference to the country’s court rulings.
在比利时，大使比尔·怀特通过社交媒体指责比利时官员反犹，引发了一场国际事件。比利时政府对此并不满意，不久后便召见了这位美国大使进行正式会谈。
In Belgium Ambassador Bill White sparked an international incident of sorts when he accused Belgian officials of antisemitism via social media. Belgium’s government was not pleased, and it summoned the U.S. ambassador for an official conversation soon after.
在法国，大使查尔斯·库什纳因其具有政治挑衅性的言论，一度被禁止与法国政府的部分成员会面——而这本应是他职责所在。
In France Ambassador Charles Kushner was briefly banned from meeting some members of the French government, which is ostensibly his job after his own politically provocative rhetoric.
今年早些时候，阿肯色州大使迈克·哈克比引发了一场地区性事件，当时他暗示，如果以色列占领从埃及到伊拉克的中东大片领土，“也未尝不可”。
In Arkansas Ambassador Mike Huckabee, sparked a regional incident earlier this year when he suggested that it “would be fine” if Israel took lands stretching across the Middle East, from Egypt to Iraq.
在波兰，大使汤姆·罗斯吹嘘与波兰议会议长断绝关系，此前这位立法领袖表示特朗普不配获得诺贝尔和平奖。
In Poland Ambassador Tom Rose boasted about severing ties with the speaker of Poland’s Parliament after the legislative leader said Trump did not deserve to win a Nobel Peace Prize.
在加拿大，大使皮特·霍克斯特拉备受争议，以至于超过20万加拿大人签署请愿书提交议会，要求将其罢免。
In Canada Ambassador Pete Hoekstra has proven so controversial that more than 200,000 Canadians signed a petition to Parliament calling for his ouster.
在意大利，大使蒂尔曼·费尔蒂塔以引起争议的方式炫耀其亿万富翁的财富，惹恼了许多意大利人。
In Italy Ambassador Tilman Fertitta has flaunted his wealth as a billionaire in ways that have proven controversial among many Italians.
大使塞尔吉奥·戈尔在8月引发外交风波，此前他告诉记者，他认为查谟-克什米尔邦是印度的“重要组成部分”。综合来看，《政治客》今年早些时候将这一群体称为美国总统的“非外交军团”。
Ambassador Sergio Gor stirred a diplomatic firestorm in August after he told reporters that he considers the state of Jammu and Kashmir to be an “important part of India.”Taken together, Politico characterized the group as the American president’s “undiplomatic corps” earlier this year.
《华盛顿邮报》的马克斯·布特在专栏中补充道：“许多特朗普的‘迷你版’特使非但没有促进美国利益，反而通过侮辱批评者和冒犯当地民众的情感，疏远了驻在国。……特朗普自己就已对美国声誉造成足够损害。他不需要这些‘非外交官’外交官帮忙疏远世界其他国家。”
The Washington Post’s Max Boot added in a column, “Rather than promoting U.S. interests, many of Trump’s mini-me envoys are alienating their host countries by insulting critics and offending local sensibilities. … Trump does enough damage to America’s reputation by himself. He doesn’t need help from his undiplomatic diplomats in alienating the rest of the world.”
该帖子：金伯利·吉尔福伊尔在希腊引发争议，加剧特朗普的外交困境 MS NOW
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