大约一个月前，唐纳德·特朗普在北卡罗来纳州出席了一场竞选集会。整场活动并无特别之处，唯有一句即兴发言引人注目：总统对在场听众表示，除非该州选民选出前共和党全国委员会主席迈克尔·沃特利进入参议院，否则他不会批准向该州提供联邦救灾资金。
Donald Trump headlined a campaign rally in North Carolina about a month ago, which was largely unremarkable except for one unscripted comment: The president told the audience he wouldn’t approve federal disaster relief funds for the state unless they elected former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley to the Senate.
平心而论，特朗普当时显然是在开玩笑（现场听众中也能听到不满的抱怨声），但考虑到当时的背景，这种低俗的幽默实在毫无笑点可言。
In fairness, Trump was apparently kidding (there were audible groans among attendees), but given the circumstances, there was nothing funny about his ugly attempt at humor.
更糟糕的是，这位总统还发表了一些本意并非为了搞笑的相关言论。就拿周末共和党为肯塔基州参议院选举所做的宣传来说吧。
To make matters worse, the president making related remarks that aren’t intended to be funny. Consider the pitch the Republican brought to Kentucky over the weekend, ahead of the Bluegrass State’s Senate race.
特朗普称自己接下来要说的属于“突发新闻”，还说这些消息会让该州共和党提名的参议员候选人安迪·巴尔“欣喜不已”。
Trump prefaced what he described as “breaking news” as the sort of thing Rep. Andy Barr, the GOP’s U.S. Senate nominee in the state, would be “very happy” to hear.
“如果共和党获胜，战争部将向制药企业安西娅投资1亿美元，用于重建肯塔基州温彻斯特市的一座大型药品生产设施，”总统说道，“这可是个大项目，是一项规模庞大的振兴计划。”在同一段讲话中，特朗普似乎是在对巴尔说：“不过安迪，你必须赢得选举，否则一切就都泡汤了。”他还补充道，如果“民主党获胜”，这项计划就无从谈起。
“If the Republicans win, the Department of War will be investing $100 million in the pharmaceutical company Antheia, to revitalize a gigantic drug manufacturing facility in Winchester, Kentucky,”the president said“That’s a big one. That’s a big revitalization project.”As part of the same remarks, the Republican said, appearing to address Barr, “But you have to win, Andy, otherwise, forget it.”Trump added that if “the Democrats win,” the project won’t happen.
特朗普并未解释为何在民主党占多数的情况下这项投资就会落空，只是称民主党人“根本不懂”。到底不懂什么？他并未说明。
Trump didn’t bother to explain why, exactly, the investment would fall apart if there was a Democratic majority, except to say that Democrats “have no idea.”No idea about what? He didn’t say.
总统的言论引发了各种各样的问题 — — 包括为什么国防部会投资于一个药物制造设施，而不是一个与公共卫生相关的部门 — — 但他并未作任何努力来回答。当《今日美国》询问五角大楼特朗普在说什么时，国防部新闻办公室拒绝置评。但正如细节本身重要一样，他提出的论调本身就很奇怪。总统似乎在告诉肯塔基州的一群选民，他将在该州某部分投资一个大型复兴项目，但如果他对选举结果不满意，他根本不会费心。
The rhetoric raised all sorts of questions — including why the Defense Department would be investing in a drug manufacturing facility, as opposed to a department related to public health — which the president made no effort to answer. When USA Today asked the Pentagon what Trump was referring to, the DOD press office declined to comment But as important as the details are, the nature of the pitch was itself bizarre. The president seemed to be telling a group of Kentucky voters that he’d to invest in a major revitalization project in a part of their state, but if he’s not satisfied with the election results, he simply won’t bother.
特朗普经常发表类似言论。他在中期选举周期中提出的唯一新点子之一，是承诺向每位美国成年人发放5000美元支票 — — 成本约为1.3万亿美元 — — 但前提是选举结果让他满意。如果这还不够，他本月早些时候在俄亥俄州主持了一场集会，当时他表示，他可能会对来自Buckeye州民主党州长候选人艾米·阿克顿的紧急援助请求持不赞同的态度。“我可能不会帮助她，”特朗普说，“我想她讨厌我。”
Trump makes similar comments all the time. One of the only new ideas he’s pitching as part of the midterm cycle is a vow to send $5,000 checks to every American adult — at a cost of roughly $1.3 trillion —but only if the election results make him happy If that weren’t enough, the president headlined a rally in Ohio earlier this month, when he suggested he would look unfavorably at emergency aid requests from Amy Acton, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in the Buckeye State. “I’m not going to help her, probably,”Trump said“She hates me, I guess.”
我们所看到的是，总统在拥抱交易式信息时已经抛弃了所有微妙之处。他手头有他想要分发的好处，公众将从他的仁慈中受益 — — 除非选民敢于伤害他的感情并支持反对他的候选人。
What we’re left with is a president who has abandoned all subtlety when it comes to embracing a transactional message. He has goodies he wants to hand out, and the public will benefit from his benevolence — unless voters dare to hurt his feelings and support candidates who oppose him.
选举在一个健康的民主国家本不应如此运作。显然，特朗普并不在乎。
This isn’t how elections are supposed to work in a healthy democracy. Evidently, Trump doesn’t care.
特朗普在中期选举中的交易方式抛弃了所有微妙之处 MS NOW
The post Trump’s transactional approach to the midterm elections abandons all subtlety MS NOW