法国骚乱者成了美国中期选举中不知情的演员。面对灾难性的政治气候和前所未有的低支持率，唐纳德·特朗普及其盟友决定将巴黎、马赛、利摩日及其他城市发生的暴力和抢劫画面武器化。这些画面充斥社交媒体，并被电视网广泛播放。通过不断重复和反复出现的措辞，这一策略已十分明确。美国总统在集会上反复提及此事，重点放在共和党候选人面临意外困难的保守州。
French rioters have become unwitting actors in the US midterms. Facing a disastrous political climate and unprecedented unpopularity, Donald Trump and his allies decided to weaponize footage of violence and looting in Paris, Marseille, Limoges and elsewhere. The images flooded social media and were widely broadcast by television networks. The strategy has been made clear through constant repetition and recurring phrases. The US president has raised the subject repeatedly during his rallies, focusing mainly on conservative states where Republican candidates are facing unexpected difficulties.
“在大量移民背景下提及法国骚乱和穆斯林，是激发民粹右翼选民的有效方式，”一位资深共和党策略师解释说。“我们说的是选民中非常特定的一个群体，约占20%。要为这次选举动员我们的基本盘非常困难。首先，特朗普不在选票上。说实话，他们现在很愤怒。我们的主要对手是沙发。他们可能干脆待在家里不投票。”
"Bringing up the riots in France and Muslims in the context of heavy immigration is an effective way to galvanize the populist right electorate," explained a senior Republican strategist. "We're talking about a very specific segment of the electorate, about 20%. It's very hard to mobilize our base for this election. First, Trump isn't on the ballot. Then, to be honest, they're angry right now. Our main opponent is the couch. They could simply stay home."
这就是特朗普阵营焦虑的由来。周二，特朗普在椭圆形办公室流露了这一点，尽管仍保持着惯常的夸夸其谈。“如果我能让我的选民——‘让美国再次伟大’共和党人，无论你怎么称呼他们——走出去投票，我们将大获全胜。但他们必须想走出去投票，如果你自己不在选票上，这会难一些。”
Therein comes the Trump camp's anxiety. On Tuesday, Trump communicated as much in the Oval Office, underneath his usual bravado. "If I can get my voters – MAGA Republicans, whatever you want to call [them] – to get out to vote, we'll win in a landslide. But they have to want to get out to vote, and if you're not on the ballot yourself, it's a little harder."