骗子总是会直视你的眼睛，面不改色地告诉你他们的骗局。而特朗普总统正在乘飞机进行连续不断的旅行，试图避免那些专家们所预测的中期选举中的“惨败”；他的行程不仅包括那些竞争激烈的“战场州”，还包括那些极度保守的红色州（即共和党势力占优势的州）。他在这些州的举动引起了人们的关注——他的惯用“混乱制造”策略让人们开始怀疑：他是否真的能够缓解即将到来的选举危机。
A con man will look you straight in the face and tell you his con with a straight face. As President Trump jet-sets on a non-stop tour to prevent the midterm bloodbath that pundits are predicting, he isn’t just going to battleground states. His stops in very heavily red states have turned heads as his trademark chaos strategy has people wondering if he can mitigate the impending massacre.
他是在试图鼓励那些支持“让美国再次伟大”（MAGA）的选民大量投票吗？还是仅仅是为了应对糟糕的民意调查结果而满足自己的虚荣心？又或者是想制造一些能够展示大量人群的场景，以此来证明人们仍然热烈支持他？又或者，那些保守州的实际情况真的那么糟糕吗？也许这些原因都存在；不过我们可能要等到选举日之后才能得到答案。不过，特朗普对支持者的信息始终如一，而且极其坦诚。
Is he trying to encourage MAGA voters to turn out in large numbers? Is he just on an ego trip to deal with the dismal poll numbers? Is he trying to create content that shows large crowds that can be played in battleground states to portray that people still rabidly support him? Or are the numbers on the ground in heavily red states just that bad too? It might be a combination of all and we probably won’t find out until after Election Day, but Trump’s midterm message to his base has been consistent and brutally honest.
这确实是一个“美国的黄金时代”——只不过这个时代并不属于你们。美国现在正处于历史上最好的时期，但你们必须为此付出代价。有些人正在大赚一笔；而你们，作为他的支持者，却不得不忍受种种痛苦，才能维持这种“丰盛的生活”。在亚利桑那州竞选期间，特朗普宣称：“我们正从油价中大赚一笔。”大多数美国人的反应，就像《新鲜王子妙事多》（The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air）中的菲尔叔叔（Uncle Phil）听到威尔·史密斯（Will Smith）说“我们发财了”时的反应一样……但这次特朗普说的是实话。
This is an American Golden Age, just not for you. This is the best it has ever been in America, but you have to pay the price. People are making money hand over fist, but you, my base, have to go through pain in order for this gravy train to be maintained. While campaigning in Arizona, Trump proclaimed that “we’re making a fortune” on oil prices. Most Americans reacted like Uncle Phil in “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” when Will Smith’s character said, “we’re rich.”But this was Trump being his most honest.
他一直在撒谎：从选举、通货膨胀到自己的高尔夫球技艺，无一不是谎言。然而在这次中期选举活动中，他终于揭露了自己真正的计划：他真正关心的人，就是那些能够赚钱的人。他的家族赚得盆满钵满；亿万富翁们变得更加富有，甚至愿意花费超过1.5亿美元来支持德克萨斯州的参议院选举；企业们虽然裁员，却依然报告创纪录的利润；而那些有钱的人则可以通过贿赂获得总统及其家人的帮助，过上最好的生活。
He has lied about everything from elections to inflation to his golf game. But in this midterm push, he has finally revealed what the plan was the whole time. The people he cares about are making money. His family is raking it in, billionaires are getting richer so that they can blow over $150 million on a Texas Senate campaign, corporations are reporting record profits while laying off workers, and fraudsters are paying for pardons. People who can pay to access the president and his family, are living their best life.
特朗普的基本盘？他们正在为特朗普的“黄金时代”付出代价，无论是字面意义上还是比喻意义上。西弗吉尼亚州的食品储藏室跟不上对食品救济的需求。柴油价格的上涨伤害了农民（以及其他人），他们的成本每周增加了数千美元。受油价影响最严重的州主要是红州。他的基本盘正在付出代价，而他们得到的只是一种感觉——他们“赢了”自由派？
Trump’s base? They are paying the price, both literally and figuratively, for Trump’s Golden Age. Food pantries in West Virginia can’t keep up with demand for food relief. Diesel prices have hurt farmers (among others) where their costs have increased by thousands of dollars a week. States hurt most by gas prices are primarily red. His base is paying and for what? A feeling that they owned the libs?
美国选民有两个普遍真理。第一个是美国人用钱包投票。第二个是美国人会把自己和他人进行比较。共和党通常善于利用后者这一真理来争取选票。他们会对选民说：“你的生活很艰难，但看看那些非法移民在白拿东西。”或者他们说：“你只是勉强度日，但看看那些靠欺骗系统获利的福利女王。”他们可能会问：“为什么福利领取者在买龙虾和最新款iPhone？”
There are two universal truths of the American voter. The first is that Americans vote with their wallets. The second is that Americans will compare themselves to others. The Republicans have usually been amazing using the latter truth to get votes. They will go to voters and say, “Things are tough on you, but look at those illegal immigrants getting free things.”Or they will say, “You are just getting by but look at those welfare queens gaming the system.”They may ask, “Why are people on welfare buying lobster and getting the latest iPhone?”
他们也可能说：“你的孩子可能没考好成绩，但他们的顶尖大学名额却被一个黑人孩子因为DEI而夺走了。”这套说辞之所以有效，是因为生活很艰难，当你觉得别人得到了便宜时，你就会产生怨恨。特朗普的支持者们常说他们转向他，是因为他们觉得自己被落下了。他们基本上是对的。特朗普的民粹主义给了他们希望——他会让他们变富，但也会确保那些他们被告知“不公平地”获得好处的人将不再能够这样做。
They might also say, “Your kid might not have gotten good grades, but their spot at a top-notch university was taken by a Black kid because of DEI.”It works because life is hard and when you perceive others getting a break, you get resentful. Trump voters often will say they turned to him because they felt they were left behind. They were right, for the most part. Trump’s populism gave them the hope he would enrich them but would also ensure those they were told were unjustly reaping the benefits would no longer be able to.
而现在，我们到了这一步。你不能再怪罪非法移民、DEI、福利领取者、黑人美国人、觉醒的自由派、大学、医学专家，甚至民主党了。特朗普的支持者们把一切都给了他，好让他能改善他们的生活。是啊，他们确实感受到了爱国主义，感觉自己在赢得一场游戏——无论是政治上的、宗教上的、文化上的，还是以上全部，对抗着我们其他人。但到了某个时候，他们的生活本应有所改善。
And here we are. You can’t blame illegal immigrants, DEI, welfare recipients, Black Americans, woke liberals, universities, medical experts, or even the Democrats anymore. Trump voters gave him everything so he could improve their lives. Yeah, they got to feel patriotic and like they were winning a game whether it was political, religious, cultural, or all of the above against the rest of us, but at some point, their lives should have improved.
想想你这一生中遇到过的每一位总统：有哪一位曾告诉过你，为了让这个国家变得强大，你必须忍受苦难吗？他们或许会说“现在对每个人来说都很难熬”，或者“我们国家即将面临一些挑战”，但从来没有一位总统会对自己的忠实支持者说：“现在的情况其实已经是最好的了——只是对你来说不是罢了。”
Think about every president in your lifetime. Has any one of them told you that in order for this country to be great, that you had to suffer? They might have said times were tough for everyone, or that we as a country were about to go through some challenges, but no president has ever trotted out to his most ardent supporters and told them this is the best it has ever been, just not for you.
如今，特朗普的支持者们只能寄希望于那些通过邮件寄来的空洞承诺，期待财富最终能够流向他们手中。由于那些所谓的“重大改革法案”、高额关税以及与伊朗的战争，再加上特朗普一心想要帮助那些他所谓的“弱势群体”，他们可能不得不等待很长时间才能看到任何实质性的改变。如果你在这个所谓的“黄金时代”中仍然没有获得任何好处，那你很可能就是被骗了。
Trump voters now have to buy a literal “check in the mail” promise and hope that at some point the wealth will flow downward toward them. Because of the Big Beautiful Bill, tariffs, and war with Iran along with a president set on enriching people that he cares about, they might have to wait a very long time. At some point, you have to realize if you aren’t already coming out on top in this “Golden Age,” you have been conned.
乔斯林·约瑟夫（Joslin Joseph）曾获得“军事记者与编辑奖”（Military Reporters and Editors Award）的最佳评论/观点类奖项。他毕业于哈佛大学和俄亥俄州立大学，曾是一名海军陆战队员，并在伊拉克服役。目前他居住在加利福尼亚州的阿纳海姆市。
Joslin Joseph is a recipient of the Military Reporters and Editors award for Best Commentary / Opinion. A graduate of Harvard and Ohio State, he is a Marine veteran who served in Iraq. He currently lives in Anaheim, Calif.