蒙大拿州卡利斯佩尔——在美国通胀率被披露在过去一年中上升了3.7%的一天，总统唐纳德·特朗普周三在蒙大拿州的一场集会上表示：“我们的通胀非常低。”在中期选举前三周，特朗普在西部竞选巡演的最后阶段为共和党候选人拉票时，大力吹捧了经济的高速增长。他告诉现场人群，贫困率正在下降，收入也在增加。他说，超过22万亿美元的资金正在流入美国，随着这一创纪录的投资水平，“他们正在蒙大拿州各地建造工厂，而且还在……各地建造工厂。”
KALISPELL, Mont. — On a day when the U.S. inflation rate was shown to have climbed 3.7% over the past year, President Donald Trump said at a rally in Montana on Wednesday, “We have very little inflation.”Trump touted a booming economy as he campaigned for Republican candidates on the final leg of a Western campaign swing, three weeks before the midterm elections. Poverty is down and incomes are up, he told the crowd. More than $22 trillion is flowing into the country and with that record-setting level of investment, “they’re building plants all over Montana, and they’re building plants all over …” “Everyone, we’re all having a good time,” he said.
他还说：“各位，我们所有人都过得很开心。”然而，他所描述的经济复苏，却并非许多人所感受到的现实。在特朗普登台前接受采访时，一些前来支持他的选民表示，他们正被食品、住房和燃料成本所挤压。84岁的家庭主妇莫妮恩·阿奎斯特住在米苏拉，她说自己会刻意将各种事务合并到一次出行中，以便把车留在车库里，从而节省油费。
Yet the economic resurgence he described isn’t the reality that many people say they are living. In interviews before Trump appeared onstage, some of the supporters who came to see him said they’re feeling squeezed by grocery, housing and fuel costs. Moneen Ahlquist, an 84-year-old homemaker who lives in Missoula, said that she is careful to combine errands in one trip so that she can keep her car in the garage and save on gas.
她说：“我们会去那些可以加油并享受几美分折扣的超市购物。”44岁的梅根·古尔尔克在一家奶牛场工作，她说，她的四个家庭成员中有三个都在全职工作，但“我们买不起东西，因为物价实在太贵了。”她说：“我代表了我国的大多数民众。我们勉强维持生计，但仍在努力。”如果面对这样的情绪，特朗普还有值得欣慰的消息，那就是他的支持者并不认为他负有责任。
“We shop at grocery stores where we can pump our gas and get a few cents off,” she said. Megan Gurhlke, 44, who works on a dairy farm, said that three of her four family members work full time and yet, “We can’t afford stuff because the prices are so bad.”“I represent the majority of our country,” she said. “We barely make ends meet, but we push to do it.”If there’s encouraging news for Trump in the face of such sentiments, it’s that his supporters don’t believe he’s at fault.
一些人与特朗普的观点一致，认为前总统乔·拜登应对高物价负责。另一些人则表示，他们愿意保持耐心，等待特朗普的政策全面生效，让生活变得更负担得起。卡利斯佩尔一家五金店的店主加里·汉森（67岁）说：“目前，物价（正在）变得更糟。”
Some echoed Trump’s contention that former President Joe Biden is to blame for high prices. Others said that they’re prepared to be patient and wait for Trump’s policies to fully kick in and make life more affordable. “Right now, they [prices] are getting worse,” said Gary Hanson, 67, a hardware store owner in Kalispell.
“要把一切扭转过来需要很长时间，而这就是特朗普正在审视的。”当她排队等待见总统时，53岁的詹妮弗·派珀拉基斯提到，给她的卡车加满柴油需要花费200美元。“油价太离谱了，”她说。尽管如此，她说，“我爱特朗普总统。我爱他为退伍军人所做的一切。他不是为了自己。他致力于帮助他人。我的丈夫是退伍军人。拜登对他什么也没做。”选举往往取决于经济。
“It’s going to take a long time to turn everything around and that’s what Trump is looking at.”As she stood in line to see the president, Jennifer Piperakis, 53, mentioned that filling her truck with diesel fuel costs her $200. “Gas prices are outrageous,” she said. Still, she said, “I love President Trump. I love what he’s doing for veterans. He’s not about himself. He’s about trying to help. My husband is a veteran. Biden didn’t do anything for him.”Elections often hinge on the economy.
民意调查显示，选民对经济状况的不满可能让共和党失去他们微弱的国会多数。特朗普在全国范围内竞选时传递的信息是，人们并没有受苦；他们正在蓬勃发展。他在周三的演讲中引用了股市涨幅，称这正在提升退休储蓄。他承认燃油成本高企，但预测伊朗战争结束后油价会下降。在为他对外国实施的关税辩护时，他说这些关税已经创造了可观的财富。
Polling suggests that voters’ unhappiness with economic conditions could cost the Republicans their slim congressional majority. Trump’s message as he campaigns across the country is that people aren’t hurting; they’re thriving. In his speech Wednesday, he cited stock market gains that are boosting retirement savings. He nodded to high fuel costs but predicted that they’ll drop once the Iran war ends. Defending the tariffs he’s imposed on foreign countries, he said that they’ve produced considerable wealth.
“我们现在更富有了，”他说。“我们现在在那里赚到的钱比以往任何时候都多——而且我们现在的就业人数也比以往任何时候都多。请记住这一点。”至于通胀，他说“我们没有通胀。”
“We’re richer now,” he said. “We’re making more money now there than we ever — and we have more jobs than ever before. Remember that.”As for inflation, he said “we don’t have inflation.”