密歇根州大急流城——周四，两位争夺密歇根州参议院空缺席位的候选人就伊朗战争、油价及关税问题展开激烈交锋，辩论过程中双方时常互相攻击、言辞刻薄。民主党人阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德试图将共和党对手、前众议员迈克·罗杰斯描绘成意志薄弱、一味追随唐纳德·特朗普的追随者；罗杰斯近期出于政治需要改变了在若干问题上的立场。
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The two candidates battling for Michigan’s open Senate seat tangled here Thursday over the war in Iran, gas prices and tariffs in a debate that often veered into mean-spirited sniping. Democrat Abdul El-Sayed sought to portray his Republican rival, former Rep. Mike Rogers, as a weak-willed loyalist to President Donald Trump who has recently changed his positions on certain issues out of political necessity.
罗杰斯则试图将埃尔-赛义德刻画成一个“骗子”，称其许下的承诺若要实现就必须提高税收或增加其他开支。双方还反复拿房地产问题互相挖苦：罗杰斯在佛罗里达州拥有一套房产，而埃尔-赛义德的妻子则在阿联酋拥有房产。这场由NBC旗下大急流城电视台WOOD主办的辩论有时火药味极浓，以至于主持人里克·阿尔宾不得不恳请两位候选人收敛攻击性言论。
Rogers attempted to frame El-Sayed as a “con man” who is making promises he cannot pay for without raising taxes or other costs. Each repeatedly taunted the other over real estate — a home Rogers has in Florida and property El-Sayed’s wife owns in the United Arab Emirates. The debate, hosted by NBC affiliate WOOD of Grand Rapids, became so punchy at times that moderator Rick Albin pleaded for the candidates to rein in their attacks.
“我也想参与这场辩论啊，”阿尔宾一度插话道。此次密歇根州参议院选举是全美竞争最为激烈、最受关注的选举之一，其结果可能决定参议院的党派控制权。现任民主党籍参议员加里·彼得斯此次不再寻求连任。在佛蒙特州参议员伯尼·桑德斯、纽约州众议员亚历山德里娅·奥卡西奥-科尔特斯等进步派名人的支持下，埃尔-赛义德在初选中击败了立场较为温和的民主党人、众议员黑莉·史蒂文斯。
“I’d like to be a part of the debate, too,” Albin interjected at one point. Michigan’s Senate race is one of the most competitive and closely watched in the country, and the results could help determine partisan control of the chamber. Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat, is not seeking re-election. Backed by progressive luminaries such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., El-Sayed emerged from a nasty primary against Rep. Haley Stevens, who positioned herself as a more moderate Democrat.
此后，渴望自1994年以来首次在该州赢得参议院席位的共和党人便试图将埃尔-赛义德塑造成极端分子。辩论伊始，阿尔宾询问两位候选人：在伊朗战争导致油价高企的背景下，他们是否支持暂停征收联邦汽油税。两人均表示支持，但该问题也引出了关于这场冲突的更深入讨论。罗杰斯最初曾支持这场战争，如今却表示希望战争尽快结束。
Since then, Republicans eager to win a Senate seat in the state for the first time since 1994 have attempted to paint El-Sayed as an extremist. The debate opened with Albin asking both candidates if, at a time of high gas prices related to the war with Iran, they would support a pause on the federal gas tax. Both said they would support a pause, but the question led into a deeper discussion about the conflict. Rogers, who initially supported the war, recently said he wants it to swiftly end.
“我支持暂时暂停征收联邦汽油税，但有一个真正导致这一局面的原因：那就是伊朗战争。从一开始，我的对手就一直在鼓吹这场战争，”埃尔-赛义德说道。“他甚至称之为‘三赢的局面’。我不知道你们怎么想，但每当我去加油站时，我可感觉不到自己‘赢了’，也感觉不到我们的国家‘赢了’。”罗杰斯则转而提及埃尔-赛义德对“全民医保”政策的支持。
“I would support pausing the federal gas tax, but there is one thing that is actually causing this: It’s the war in Iran, a war that has been cheerled by my opponent since the beginning,” El-Sayed said. “Called it a ‘win, win, win.’ I don’t know about you, but when I go to the gas tank, I don’t feel like I’m winning. I don’t feel like our country is winning.”Rogers responded by pivoting to El-Sayed’s support for “Medicare for All,” a proposal that Sanders and others on the left have been championing for years.
这一提案多年来一直由桑德斯及其他左翼人士大力倡导。罗杰斯声称，这样的政策会迫使人们放弃自己可能更偏好的私人保险，同时还会导致税收和汽油价格上涨。“这简直是一场灾难，”罗杰斯说，“我们可负担不起阿卜杜勒这样的政策。”还有一处，罗杰斯补充道：“听听这家伙今天想推销什么吧。你们会发现他根本不是自己所说的那种人。实际上，他正在兜售我认为有史以来最精妙的骗局。”
Such a policy, Rogers asserted, would force people off private insurance they might prefer while causing taxes and gas prices to rise. “It is a disaster,” Rogers said. “We cannot afford Abdul.”At another point, Rogers added: “Listen to this guy and what he’s trying to sell here today. You’re going to find out that this guy is not what he says he is. He is actually selling the best con I think I’ve ever seen.”
随后，阿尔宾将话题转向关税问题——这也是罗杰斯近期试图与特朗普划清界限的领域。特朗普新实施的关税政策于上月生效，对价值200亿美元的美国出口至加拿大的商品征收15%至50%不等的关税。对于与加拿大接壤且贸易往来频繁的密歇根州而言，这一政策是个重大问题。曾经支持总统相关举措的罗杰斯本周发布了一则广告，呼吁结束这场贸易战。
Albin then turned the discussion toward tariffs — another area in which Rogers has recently attempted to distance himself from Trump. New tariffs implemented by Trump took effect last month, placing duties of between 15% and 50% on $20 billion worth of U.S. products exported to Canada. The tariffs are a major issue in Michigan, which borders and trades with Canada. Rogers, who once supported the president’s push, released an ad this week calling for an end to the trade war.
“本周我确实给白宫打电话了，还与商务部长谈到了促成协议的事，”罗杰斯在辩论中说道，“加拿大至今仍对美国商品征收高额关税，而且是在贸易战爆发前就这么做的。这些关税应当取消。有些关税水平实在过高，对我们毫无益处，理应废除。我们的目标就是争取达成最有利的协议，我希望这场贸易战能就此结束。”
“I have actually called the White House this week, talked to the secretary of commerce about getting the deal done,” Rogers said during the debate. “Canada still has some high tariffs for U.S. goods, and they did it before they started. Those should be eliminated. There are tariffs that I think are too high and not helpful for us. We ought to get rid of those. So this is about getting the best deal possible. I’d like to see it end.”
对此，埃尔-赛义德反驳称，罗杰斯起初也曾支持这些关税政策，并引用了一项研究结果来说明这些关税给密歇根州的家庭带来了多大的经济负担。
El-Sayed countered by noting Rogers’ initial support and a study that estimated how costly the tariffs have been for Michigan households.
“听着，你们现在听到的是一个曾经支持加拿大关税政策的人在说话，而这一政策导致我们每年要为此支付5600美元，”埃尔-赛义德说道。“他立场反复无常，这与政策无关，也与大家的支出成本毫无关系，完全是因为他的民调支持率不断下滑。”片刻之后，埃尔-赛义德又补充道：“软弱又胆小，直到民调数据变差才敢站出来表态。”
“Look, you’re hearing somebody who has cheerled, again, a Canadian tariff policy that we are paying $5,600 a year for,” El-Sayed said. “The reason he’s flip-flopping has nothing to do with policy, has nothing to do with your costs. Has everything to do with his sagging poll numbers.”El-Sayed added, a moment later: “Weak, cowardly, won’t stand up until his poll numbers drop.”
这场辩论还展现了两位候选人之间的其他分歧，比如在美国移民与海关执法局的问题上——埃尔-赛义德曾呼吁废除该机构。当阿尔宾问及罗杰斯是否认为特朗普政府的移民执法策略曾有过度之举时，罗杰斯表示，今年在明尼阿波利斯发生的那次公开执法行动——联邦特工开枪打死了两名美国公民——“或许并不妥当”。罗杰斯说道：“我当年在芝加哥担任联邦调查局特工时也曾执行过抓捕逃犯的任务。执行任务时总是要悄无声息地进入现场，抓住坏人后迅速撤离，以免引发更多麻烦。因此在我看来，那次行动本可以采取不同的方式。”
The debate presented other contrasts between the candidates, including on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which El-Sayed has called for abolishing. When asked by Albin if he believed the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement strategy had ever gone too far, Rogers said this year’s very public operation in Minneapolis, which resulted in federal agents shooting and killing two U.S. citizens, were “probably not appropriate.”“I actually did fugitive raids when I was an FBI agent in Chicago,” Rogers said. “You always want to go in quiet, get the bad guy, get out of the neighborhood for less problems. So that to me was something that they could have done differently.”
至于埃尔-赛义德，他也被追问了自己对以色列的批评立场，以及最近在《NewsNation》的采访中为何拒绝回答“以色列和伊朗哪个对美国构成更大威胁”这一问题。尽管阿尔宾再三追问，埃尔-赛义德依然没有直接作答。“我只想说这是个毫无意义的假设性问题。实际情况是：我们名义上的盟友以色列一直在游说我们向伊朗开战，”埃尔-赛义德回应道。
El-Sayed, for his part, was pressed on his criticism of Israel and his recent refusal, in a NewsNation interview, to say whether he sees Israel or Iran as a bigger threat to the U.S. Despite Albin’s prodding, El-Sayed again declined to offer a direct answer. “I’m just going to say that that’s a ridiculous hypothetical because here’s what’s happening right now: Our ostensible ally in Israel has lobbied us to go to war with Iran,” El-Sayed replied.
“我们看到伊朗随后对中东多国发动轰炸，还试图掐断全球的能源供应。在这种情况下，我认为我们不应卷入其中。我不想被以色列逼着去打仗，”他补充道，“我希望我们的钱能用来在国内修建学校、改善医疗和儿童保育服务。”
“We have watched as Iran has responded by bombing all kinds of countries in the Middle East, and then choking off the world’s energy supply. So this is a situation in which I don’t think we should be a part. I don’t want to be pushed into war by Israel,” he added.
“我不明白为什么这会让人觉得难以置信。”这场辩论是埃尔-赛义德与罗杰斯之间计划举行的两场辩论中的第一场，不过两位候选人几个月来就一直在互相较劲。双方都采用了类似校园恶作剧式的挑衅手段：罗杰斯嘲笑埃尔-赛义德的身高，而埃尔-赛义德则向罗杰斯发起挑战，提议进行一场“不穿护具”的橄榄球比赛。在全国范围内，共和党人试图将持有进步立场且拥有诸多盟友的埃尔-赛义德塑造成民主党新面孔。
“I want our money spent here to buy schools and healthcare and childcare here. I don’t understand why that is so inconceivable.”The debate was the first of two planned between El-Sayed and Rogers, but the candidates have been circling each other for months. Both have leaned into schoolyard taunts, with Rogers mocking El-Sayed’s height and El-Sayed challenging Rogers to a “no pads” football game. Nationally, Republicans have attempted to make El-Sayed, with his progressive views and alliances, the new face of the Democratic Party.
为了抹黑埃尔-赛义德，他们还刻意强调其族裔背景与穆斯林身份。例如，副总统JD·万斯就敦促那些“对手并非极端分子”的共和党人，转而把埃尔-赛义德作为攻击目标。周三晚间，特朗普在Truth Social上发文，称埃尔-赛义德为“穆罕默德”，还把他描述成“源自圣战时代的人物”。周四早些时候，埃尔-赛义德在大急流城一家餐厅与密歇根州州长格雷琴·惠特默共进午餐时，调侃了特朗普的种种举动，包括总统念错自己真名的情形。
In their efforts to villainize El-Sayed, they have also emphasized his ethnicity and Muslim faith. Vice President JD Vance, for example, has urged Republicans who are “running against a Democrat who’s not that crazy,” to instead mention El-Sayed. And in a Wednesday night post on Truth Social, Trump referred to El-Sayed as “Mohammed” while describing him as someone who “goes back to the days of the Jihad.”Earlier Thursday, at a lunch event with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at a Grand Rapids restaurant, El-Sayed mocked Trump’s antics, including how the president pronounces his real name.
“请念对名字，”埃尔-赛义德说道，“我们还会教你如何在名字前加上‘参议员’这个头衔来正确称呼我。”他接着针对特朗普与万斯说道：“他们不断拿我的名字和信仰做文章，以为这样就能转移大家的注意力，让我们忽视那些影响所有人的现实问题——可我的名字和信仰绝不是大家买不起汽油的理由啊。”
“Get it right,” El-Sayed said, “because we’re going to teach you how to say it properly with the word senator in front of it.”He added, referring to Trump and Vance: “They keep pointing to my name and my faith because they think that they can distract us from the issues that affect all of us — because my name and my faith are not the reason you can’t afford a tank of gas.”