特朗普政府丑闻吸走关注，民主党寻求中期选举优势在民主党人寻找新方法将共和党对手与总统联系起来之际，震撼总统特朗普核心圈子的丑闻正在中期选举前夕占据中心舞台。
Trump administration scandals suck up oxygen as Dems seek midterm advantage Scandals rocking President Trump’s orbit are taking center stage ahead of the midterm elections as Democrats look for fresh ways to tie their Republican opponents to the president.
上周，有报道显示，特朗普驻希腊大使金伯利·吉尔福伊尔在听证会前私下索取资金以偿还债务。
Last week, a report surfaced indicating Trump’s ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, privately solicited cash to pay down her debts ahead of her confirmation hearing.
与此同时，另有报道指出，特朗普的长期竞选顾问克里斯·拉西维塔和詹姆斯·布莱尔曾前往巴尔干半岛，为亲俄政党提供咨询，并借此赚取了数十万美元。
Meanwhile, separate reporting noted Trump’s longtime campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and James Blair traveled to the Balkans to advise a pro-Russian political party and made hundreds of thousands of dollars doing so.
特朗普周一告诉记者，他正在“考虑”解雇吉尔福伊尔，并对她感到不满。上周，他在回应关于布莱尔和拉西维塔行程的风波时，在“真实社交”平台上发文称，如果有任何不当行为，他将解雇这两人。
Trump told reporters Monday that he is“looking at” firing Guilfoyle and that he was not happy with her. Last week, he addressed the fallout surrounding Blair and LaCivita’s travel, saying in a Truth Social post that he would terminate the two if there was any wrongdoing.
尽管如此，民主党人表示，这些报道有助于他们在以生活成本负担为关键的选举中，将共和党人刻画为脱离群众的形象。
Still, Democrats say the reports have aided them in painting Republicans as out of touch in an election hinged on affordability.
与“多数党民主党人”和“替补席”等团体合作的民主党运作人士马特·科里多尼说：“选民明白，对他们而言，生活成本不仅大幅上升了。他们明白，生活成本大幅上升的同时，政府却在优先考虑为富人减税、修建宴会厅和拱门，并从加密货币中发财。”
“Voters understand that it’s not just that the cost of living has gone up dramatically for them. They understand that it’s gone up dramatically for them and that the administration is prioritizing tax breaks for the wealthy and building ballrooms and building arches and getting rich off of crypto,” said Matt Corridoni, a Democratic operative working with the groups Majority Democrats and The Bench.
民主党人列举了针对特朗普及其核心圈子成员的一系列利益冲突指控。
Democrats have cited a number of conflict-of-interest allegations against Trump and those in his orbit.
与“世界自由金融”——即特朗普及其儿子们在2024年秋天他竞选总统期间创立的加密货币公司——的联系引发了尤为严格的审查。财务披露显示，特朗普从这家风险企业中捞取了超过5亿美元，尽管该公司曾表示，其设立的目的就是为了防止特朗普家族在特朗普入主白宫期间介入该银行。
Ties to World Liberty Financial — the cryptocurrency firm Trump and his sons founded in the fall of 2024 when he was running for president — have drawn particular scrutiny. Financial disclosures show Trump raked in more $500 million from the venture, although the firm has said it has been set up to prevent the Trump family from being involved in the bank while Trump is in the White House.
路透社/益普索上月发布的民意调查显示，69%的受访成年人表示他们相信特朗普的商业利益影响了他作为总统的决策，其中包括48%的共和党人。此外，63%的受访者认为特朗普及其家人从加密货币中获利是不恰当的。
Reuters/Ipsos poll released last month found that 69 percent of all adults surveyed said they believed Trump’s businesses influence his decisions as president, including 48 percent of Republicans. Further, 63 percent of respondents said it was inappropriate for Trump and his family to have profited from cryptocurrency.
特朗普的批评者还指责白宫舞厅是一种“付费即可参与”的计划。自该交易在本届任期早些时候宣布以来，特朗普因接受卡塔尔赠送的VC-25B“空军一号”桥梁飞机（目前被用作临时空军一号）而受到批评。
The president’s critics have also accused the White House ballroom of being a pay-to-play scheme. Trump has received criticism for accepting the Qatari gifted VC-25B Bridge, which is being used as the interim Air Force One, since the deal was announced earlier this term.
民主党人还利用特朗普与已故 disgraced 金融家、被定罪的性犯罪者杰弗里·爱泼斯坦的关系，试图以负面形象描绘他们的共和党对手。
Democrats have also used Trump’s ties to the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to paint their Republican opponents in a negative light.
“腐败故事和对工人阶级的抛弃在某种程度上是民主党人所提出的核心论点，”民主党策划人西蒙·罗森伯格说。
“The corruption story and the abandonment of working people is sort of the central argument that Democrats are making,” said Simon Rosenberg, a Democratic strategist.
“因此，每当有某件事证实这一点时，就会伤害共和党人，因为这只是强化了民主党人关于共和党的一个核心叙事，”他继续说道。“任何来自全国新闻的这种额外证实都会削弱并伤害共和党在基层的支持。”民主党人广泛利用针对特朗普及其周围人的指控，描绘出一个腐败、由共和党主导的华盛顿形象，该形象与选民的关切脱节。
“And so every time that there is something that confirms that, it hurts Republicans because it just reinforces one of the central stories that Democrats are telling about the Republican Party,” he continued. “Any additional confirmation of that that’s coming in the national news weakens and hurts the Republicans on the ground.”Democrats have broadly used the claims against Trump and those around him to paint a picture of a corrupt, Republican-run Washington that is out of touch with the concerns of voters.
“人们也不傻，”一位民主党策划人说。“当他们挣扎时，他们会看是谁在获利，对吧？”“那就是你开始剥开层层表面，然后说，‘哦，这些在职人员正在为自己谋利，或者利用他们手中的权力通过法律来让事情对他们更有利’，”该策划人继续说道。
“People also are not stupid,” said one Democratic strategist. “When they’re struggling, they’re looking at who is gaining, right?”“That’s when you sort of peel back the layers and say, 'Oh it’s these people in office who are benefitting themselves or who are using different things within their power to pass laws to make things easier for them,'” the strategist continued.
这些问题在上周全国范围内的中期选举辩论中成为真正的焦点，民主党候选人试图让他们的共和党对手处于守势。
The issues took true center stage at midterm debates across the country last week, with Democratic candidates seeking to put their Republican opponents on the defensive.
“现实情况是，我们国家存在一场腐败危机，而这正导致一场负担能力危机，”爱荷华州民主党参议员候选人乔什·蒂雷克（Josh Turek）说。他指责其共和党对手、众议员阿什莉·欣森（Ashley Hinson）等人利用自身职务变得更加富有。
“The reality is we have a corruption crisis in this country, and it is leading to an affordability crisis,” said Iowa Democratic Senate candidate Josh Turek, accusing his Republican opponent, Rep. Ashley Hinson, and others of using their positions to become wealthier.
佐治亚州民主党参议员乔恩·奥索夫（Jon Ossoff）对针对吉尔福伊尔的指控做出回应，他在接受MS NOW采访时表示，需要国会中的民主党多数席位来对该事件展开调查。
Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) responded to the allegations against Guilfoyle, telling MS NOW that Democratic majorities in Congress were needed to conduct investigations into the matter.
正在佐治亚州竞选连任的奥索夫对该电视网表示：“我认为你们可以放心，国会将把重点放在监督上，前提是我们做好需要做的一切，并重新夺回追究本届政府责任所需的多数席位。”
“I think you can rest assured that there will be a focus on congressional oversight, provided we do everything we need to do and regain the majorities necessary to hold this administration accountable,” Ossoff, who is running for reelection in Georgia, told the network.
他接着说：“我们需要规划有力的监督工作，但眼下，我们必须毫不动摇地专注于胜利这一当务之急。”
“We need to plan vigorous oversight efforts, but right now, we need to be relentlessly focused on the imperative of victory,” he continued.
在其连任竞选过程中，奥索夫一直直接就腐败问题猛烈抨击特朗普。在上周的辩论中，奥索夫指责其对手、佐治亚州共和党众议员迈克·柯林斯（Mike Collins）“掠夺选民以补贴你们的捐赠者”。
Over the course of his reelection campaign, Ossoff has hammered Trump directly over corruption. Ossoff accused his opponent, Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.), of “robbing your constituents to subsidize your donors” during their debate last week.
科里多尼指出，上周末他在与蒙大拿州民主党国会候选人萨姆·福斯塔戈弗（Sam Forstagover）一同参加竞选活动时，也遇到了类似的问题。
Corridoni noted a similar issue came up while he was on the campaign trail with Montana Democratic congressional candidate Sam Forstagover the weekend.
科里多尼回忆说：“人们在提到腐败时，将其与生活成本问题联系起来。那里的跨党派观众提到了对医疗保健的削减、天然气价格，并且他们知道这一切正在他们身上发生，而政客们却从中获益。”共和党人则向民主党进行了回击，辩称该党自身也有需要解决的腐败问题。
“People were bringing up corruption as it relates to cost-of-living issues,” Corridoni recounted. “The bipartisan audience there was bringing up cuts to healthcare, the cost of gas, and that they knew this was happening to them while politicians were benefitting from it.”Republicans have hit back at Democrats, arguing their party has its own corruption issues to tackle.
共和党全国委员会全国新闻秘书娜塔莉·巴尔达萨雷（Natalie Baldassarre）说：“民主党人喜欢就腐败问题向选民说教，但他们毫不犹豫地从见不得光的亿万富翁那里接受数百万美元，并反对国会股票交易禁令，以此来中饱私囊。”
"Democrats love to lecture voters on corruption, but they have no issue taking millions of dollars from shady billionaires and opposing a congressional stock trading ban to pad their own pockets,” said Natalie Baldassarre, national press secretary at the Republican National Committee.
“共和党是唯一一个减税、把工人放在首位、并创造了数千个美国就业岗位的党派。民主党将在第一天就推翻所有这些成果，然后当物价上涨、更多岗位消失时却发怒，”她继续说道。
“Republicans are the only party that has cut taxes, put workers first, and created thousands of American jobs. Democrats will reverse all these achievements on day one and then get mad when prices rise and more jobs disappear,” she continued.
罗森伯格预测，如果民主党重新夺回国会山的多数席位，反腐败的斗争将成为“核心的立法和监督斗争”。
Rosenberg predicted the battle over corruption would become “a central legislative and oversight fight” if Democrats regain majorities on Capitol Hill.
“他们[民主党]将不得不根据他们竞选时的主张来通过并改变体系，”他说。
“They’re [Democrats] going to have to pass and change the system based on how they’ve campaigned,” he said.
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