随着中期选举周期的展开，白宫和共和党领袖在过去几年里为党派的记录辩护时举步维艰。为了避免惨败，党派转而试图吓唬美国选民，坚称民主党的胜利将开启一个社会主义、共产主义或两者结合的反乌托邦时代。
As the midterm election cycle has unfolded, the White House and Republican leaders have struggled to defend the party’s record over the last couple of years. To avoid crushing defeats, the party has instead tried to scare the heck out of the American electorate, insisting that Democratic victories will some usher in a dystopian era of socialism, communism or perhaps some combination of the two.
例如，上个月唐纳德·特朗普与福克斯新闻的劳拉·英格拉姆坐下来时，主持人让总统用一句话概括共和党选民“为何必须在中期选举中出现”。他只用一个词回答。“共产主义，”特朗普答道。
For example, when Donald Trump sat down with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham last month, and the host asked the president to summarize in one sentence why Republican voters “need to show up in the midterms.”He responded with a single word. “Communism,” Trump replied .
这种立场显而易见的问题在于它是诽谤性的胡说。无论是否认同民主党，认为他们在拥抱共产主义显然是荒唐的。但同样值得注意的是，总统似乎根本不懂什么是共产主义。（据他说，它像社会主义，但更有力度。）更糟的是，特朗普团队似乎也不懂什么是社会主义。问：“你个人如何定义社会主义？”
The obvious problem with such a position is that it’s slanderous nonsense. Whether one agrees with Democrats or not, the idea that they’re embracing communism is obviously bonkers. But just as notable was the fact that the president doesn’t appear to have any idea what communism is . (To hear him tell it, it’s like socialism, but with oomph.) Making matters worse, Team Trump doesn’t appear to know what socialism is, either. Q: “How do you define socialism personally?”
范斯：“我认为在美国语境下，它实际上意味着你想用外国工人取代美国工人，还想让男孩参加女子体育项目。”——The Bulwark (@thebulwark.com) 2026-10-08T15:50:41.470Z在一次与无关议题的周四新闻发布会上，一位记者向JD·范斯提出了我长期想问共和党领袖的问题：“你个人如何定义社会主义？”
Vance: “I think in reality, what it actually means in the American context is that you want to replace American workers with foreign workers, and you want boys to play in girls' sports.”—The Bulwark (@thebulwark.com) 2026-10-08T15:50:41.470Z At a Thursday press conference on an unrelated issue, a reporter asked JD Vance a question I’ve long wanted to pose Republican leaders: “How do you define socialism, personally?”
副总统回答：“哦，天啊，你知道，我想说，这个词现在真的很难定义……我已经不知道这个词到底是什么意思了。我认为在美国的实际意义是，你想用外国工人取代美国工人，还想让男孩参加女子体育项目。”
The vice president replied, “Oh, man, you know, I guess, it’s honestly, it’s a hard term to define these days. … I don’t know what the term means anymore. I think in reality, what it actually means in the American context is that you want to replace American workers with foreign workers, and you want boys to play in girls’ sports.”
使用“现实中”这个短语是一个绝妙的笔触，因为在真正的现实中，“社会主义”根本不是那个意思。
The use of the phrase “in reality” was an especially nice touch, because, in the actual reality, that’s not even close to what “socialism” means.
我并不是真指望万斯能背诵卡尔·马克思的著作，或者对国家控制生产资料的意义侃侃而谈，但如果共和党人要以警告社会主义和共产主义作为该党整个选举季宣传的核心，那么要求这些人对这些词汇的含义有所了解并非过分的要求。
I don’t seriously expect Vance to be able to start reciting Karl Marx from memory, or wax poetic on the implications of state control over the means of production, but if Republicans are going to make warnings about socialism and communism the basis for the party’s entire election-season message, it’s not unreasonable to think these guys should have some understanding of what the words mean .
在过去的几十年里，共和党各路人士几乎将民主党的所有国内政策提案都抹黑为“社会主义”，以至于这种做法变得令人厌烦且老套。事实上，几代共和党人一直将“大政府”和“社会主义”作为同义词交替使用。
In recent decades, assorted GOP voices have smeared practically every Democratic domestic policy proposal as “socialism,” to the point that it became tiresome and trite. Indeed, for generations, Republicans effectively used “big government” and “socialism” interchangeably.
但万斯把问题进一步傻瓜化了，其方式表明“社会主义”现在意味着“任何让保守党人在某一天感到不满的事物”。
But Vance has dumbed things down even further, in ways that suggest “socialism” now means “whatever conservatives happen to be upset about on any given day.”
这篇题为《万斯试图定义“社会主义”，结果却翻车了》的文章最初发布于。
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