明尼苏达州的一名共和党候选人删除了其竞选网站上的一句言论，该言论称特朗普总统不受欢迎。这条言论似乎是人工智能根据某些指令生成的。参加明尼苏达州第二国会选区选举的共和党人埃里克·普拉特（Eric Pratt）在其竞选网站上最初写了一段关于如何传达相关信息的指导性文字，内容如下：“居民希望日常消费能够负担得起，不良行为者能够受到惩处，同时他们的代表能够以理性、务实的态度来领导民众。”
A Republican candidate in Minnesota has deleted a phrase from his campaign website stating that President Trump is unpopular, a mention that appeared to be a prompt given to AI to generate a message for the candidate. Republican Eric Pratt, running in Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District, initially included an instructional phrase about how to craft a message on affordability. “Residents want everyday purchases to be affordable, bad actors to be held accountable, and for their reps to lead with common sense,” the website read.
网站中还提到：“由于总统不受欢迎，所有竞选信息都应聚焦于地方政治和民众的实际需求。”虽然第一句话仍然保留着，但那段关于总统的评论已被删除。普拉特的这一失误迅速在网络上引起了广泛关注；《The Hill》杂志通过 Wayback Machine（互联网档案网站）查阅了该网站的存档，证实该评论确实存在。普拉特竞选团队的代表并未立即回应《The Hill》的采访请求。
“The President is not popular, so all messaging should be focused on local politics and needs.”The first sentence remains, but the prompt about the president has been deleted. Pratt’s apparent blunder went viral online, and an archive of the website on the Wayback Machine reviewed by The Hill confirms the phrase was included. A representative for Pratt’s campaign did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
随着特朗普的支持率在中期选举前夕跌至历史低点，越来越多的共和党候选人开始与总统保持距离。根据《纽约时报》与锡耶纳大学（Siena University）联合进行的民意调查，特朗普在潜在选民中的支持率仅为36%，59%的选民表示反对他的政策。在全国一些竞争激烈的选区，共和党候选人纷纷在他们的竞选网站上不再提及特朗普的名字。
Republican candidates are increasingly distancing themselves from the president as his popularity reaches record lows ahead of the midterms. A New York Times/Siena University Poll out Wednesday put the president’s approval rating at just 36 percent among likely voters, with 59 percent disapproving. Some GOP candidates in battleground districts around the country are leaving off mentions of Trump on their campaign websites.
即使在佛罗里达州（该州此次选举中共和党占据优势），共和党州长候选人拜伦·唐纳兹（Byron Donalds）也从自己的网站上删除了所有与特朗普相关的内容。在多个竞争激烈的参议院选举中，共和党人都呼吁结束伊朗战争。参加参议院选举的艾什莉·欣森（Ashley Hinson，共和党，爱荷华州）和迈克·罗杰斯（Mike Rogers，共和党，密歇根州）都要求立即终止这场战争；同样处于竞选困境中的俄亥俄州参议员乔恩·赫斯蒂德（Jon Husted，共和党）也表达了同样的立场。在传统上属于共和党势力的堪萨斯州，参议员们也同样呼吁结束伊朗战争。
Even in Florida, where the statewide races lean toward Republicans this cycle, the Republican nominee for governor, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), removed several mentions of the president from his website. Across competitive Senate races, Republicans are calling for an end to the Iran war. Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) and former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), both running for Senate, called for an immediate end to the war, as did Ohio Sen. Jon Husted (R), who is in a tough fight for reelection. In traditionally Republican Kansas, Sen. Roger Marshall (R), also fighting for reelection, criticized immigration enforcement operations in his state.
同样在争取连任的罗杰·马歇尔（共和党）批评了其所在州的移民执法行动。普拉特要想翻转明尼苏达州第2国会选区本就面临巨大困难，该选区因众议员安吉·克雷格（民主党）不再寻求连任而成为无现任议员竞选的空缺席位。非党派选举预测机构Decision Desk HQ（DDHQ），《国会山报》的合作伙伴，认为普拉特击败民主党人马特·利特尔的几率仅为3%。
Pratt already had long odds to flip Minnesota’s 2nd, an open seat being vacated by Rep. Angie Craig (D). Nonpartisan election forecaster Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ), a partner of The Hill, gives Pratt just a 3 percent chance of defeating Democrat Matt Little.