本周初，当JD·万斯准备前往阿拉斯加州开展竞选活动时，一名记者向这位副总统提出了一个直截了当的问题：他认为由公共资金资助的竞选广告是否属于“对纳税人金钱的合理使用”？
As this week got underway and JD Vance prepared to hit the campaign trail in Alaska, a reporter asked the vice president a straightforward question: Does he believe publicly funded campaign ads are “a good use of taxpayer dollars”?
这位来自俄亥俄州的共和党人回应道：“我确信有些人会不赞同，但仔细看看这些广告的内容，它们并无党派倾向。”他还补充称，在他看来，这种选举季的宣传手段并无任何“反常之处”。
The Ohio Republican replied“I’m sure that some people don’t like it, but if you look at the message of those s, they’re not partisan.”He added that, as far as he’s concerned, there’s nothing “unusual” about the election-season tactics.
然而，和副总统的许多言论一样，这一说辞显然荒谬至极。白宫动用纳税人的钱来播放政治宣传片——其中甚至包含唐纳德·特朗普2024年竞选活动的广告——这一做法不仅在法律层面存疑且史无前例，因此万斯的辩护根本站不住脚。但出人意料的是，数小时后总统却采取了截然相反的立场。
Like too much of what the vice president says, the argument was plainly absurd. The White House has used taxpayer money to air political propaganda— including one commercial that was one of Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign ads — which is both legally dubious and unprecedented, making Vance’s defense literally unbelievable. But in an unexpected move, hours later, the president went in the opposite direction.
据MS NOW报道，一位白宫官员周一向该媒体透露：今后唐纳德·特朗普的超级政治行动委员会将负责支付其竞选类电视广告的费用。此前政府出资投放的此类广告引发了两党人士的强烈反对，如今相关开支将不再由纳税人承担。
MS NOW reported President Donald Trump’s super PAC will pay for his campaign-style television ads moving forward, a White House official told MS NOW on Monday, shifting the cost away from taxpayers after the government-funded ad drew bipartisan backlash.
这一说明是在特朗普于“Truth Social”上发帖称将不再动用纳税人的钱来资助相关广告，并暗示自己或通过MAGA Inc.筹集的资金来支付费用数小时后发布的。当被问及特朗普是否打算用个人资金或超级政治行动委员会的资金来支付费用时，一位白宫官员向MS NOW表示，今后这些广告费用将由MAGA Inc.承担。
The clarification came hours after Trump said in a Truth Social post that he would stop using taxpayer dollars to fund the ads and suggested he could pay for them himself or with money raised by MAGA Inc. Asked whether Trump intended to use his personal money or his super PAC funds, a White House official told MS NOW that MAGA Inc. will pay for the ads “moving forward.”
特朗普在网上的声明称，他之所以改变主意，是因为遭到了“激进左派”的强烈反对。这一说法颇为奇怪：不仅许多共和党官员公开谴责滥用公共资金的行为，而且总统向来对那些能引发“激进左派”不满的事情漠不关心。此外，既然今后广告费用将由特朗普的超级政治行动委员会承担，那么政府究竟何时——甚至是否会——把此前用于制作宣传内容的数百万美元归还给纳税人，依然是个悬而未决的问题。
Trump’s online statement said he decided to reverse course in response to fury from “the Radical Left,” which was bizarre, not only because many Republican officials publicly denounced the misuse of public funds but also because the president has never taken much of an interest in what has sparked complaints from “the Radical Left.”What’s more, the fact that Trump’s super PAC will pay for the ads “moving forward” leaves lingering questions about when, if ever, the administration intends to repay taxpayers for the millions of dollars that have already been spent on the propagandistic messaging.
不过，在最新事态逐渐平息之后，我们也不妨思考一下：为何总统会突然放弃原先的计划？虽然这难免带有推测成分，但可能性其实不少。
But as the dust settles on the latest developments, it’s also worth pausing to ask why, exactly, the president suddenly decided to abandon his plans. This obviously requires some speculation, but there are plenty of possibilities.
或许是白宫法律顾问提醒他此举必败无疑。联邦法律明确规定，动用公共资金用于“宣传目的”属于违法行为；政府问责局也指出，这一禁令适用于“纯粹带有党派色彩”以及“旨在帮助特定政党或候选人”的宣传内容。由此看来，白宫法律顾问很可能已向特朗普及其团队明确指出：公然违反法律限制必将招致严重后果，甚至可能引发弹劾程序。
Maybe White House lawyers told him this was a fight he’d lose It is illegal under federal law to use public funds for “propaganda purposes,” and the Government Accountability Office has said the prohibition applies to communications that are “purely partisan” and/or “designed to aid a political party or candidates.”With this in mind, it’s very easy to believe the White House counsel’s office let Trump and his team know that they were inviting real consequences — including possible impeachment efforts — by brazenly flouting legal limits.
又或许总统看到了民意调查结果。最近路透社与Ipsos联合开展的民调显示，高达86%的美国人——包括五分之四自称是共和党支持者的人——都认为动用纳税人的钱来支付竞选广告费用是不对的。
Maybe the president saw the polls The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll found that a whopping 86% of Americans — including 4 out of 5 self-identified Republican voters — agree that it’s wrong to use taxpayer money to pay for campaign ads.
距离选举日仅剩四周时间，白宫官员或许觉得，去支持一项遭到全国86%民众反对的举措并无太大意义。
With four weeks remaining before Election Day, it’s plausible to think White House officials didn’t see much of a point to rallying behind a gambit opposed by 86% of the country.
特朗普或许是迫于共和党方面的压力才改变立场。在选举周期即将结束之际，共和党官员及候选人要求白宫调整政策，以免这种可能违法的公款滥用行为损害该党的竞选宣传效果，这种可能性是存在的。我们真的能确定他真的要改变做法了吗？
Maybe Trump succumbed to Republican pressure With so little time left in the cycle, it stands to reason that GOP officials and candidates asked the White House to change direction, rather than have this potentially illegal misuse of public funds detract from the party’s closing message. Are we sure he’s reversing course?
据总统及其团队称，他们打算让中期选举宣传广告的费用不再由纳税人承担。问题在于，总统及其团队时常发表各种言论，而其中不少说法后来都被证明是虚假的。
According to the president and his team, they’re shifting the cost for the midterm ads away from taxpayers. The trouble is that the president and his team say all sorts of things all the time, and many of those claims prove false.
如果特朗普真的不再挪用纳税人的钱来投放竞选广告，那确实是解决这一丑闻的重要一步。不过从过往经历来看，对于总统的言论我们理应保持高度怀疑的态度。接下来值得关注的是，这些竞选广告的费用负担是否真的会转嫁给特朗普旗下的超级政治行动委员会。
If Trump really is going to stop misusing taxpayer money for this ad campaign, it’s a step toward resolving the scandal. But if recent history has taught us anything, it’s that the president’s claims should be treated with reflexive skepticism, and it’ll be worth watching whether the cost burden for the campaign ads is actually shifted to Trump’s super PAC. The post Why Trump unexpectedly reversed course on taxpayer-funded campaign ads MS NOW