1989年，乔·庄斯顿执导的电影《宝贝，我把孩子缩小了》大获票房成功。这部美国喜剧讲述了古怪的科学家兼父亲韦恩·萨林斯基发明了一台缩小机，结果却意外将自己的孩子缩小到昆虫大小，孩子们在草丛中迷失方向的故事。美国总统唐纳德·特朗普走得更远。他在缩小美国。
In 1989, the film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, directed by Joe Johnston, was a box office hit. This American comedy tells the story of an eccentric scientist and father, Wayne Szalinski, who invents a shrinking machine. Alas, it ends up shrinking his own children, who, reduced to the size of insects, become lost in the garden grass. The American president, Donald Trump, has gone even further. He is shrinking America.
他降低了美国的地位。他让美国呈现出一个正处于战略、外交和政治衰退——更不用说道德沦丧——中的超级大国形象。这场下行螺旋中的任何一幕都不应再让我们感到惊讶。然而，任何对那个伟大国家——美国——怀有一份同理心和感激之情的人，依然难以接受。
He diminishes its stature. He gives it the profile of a superpower in the throes of strategic, diplomatic and political decline – not to mention moral decay. No episode in this downward spiral should surprise us anymore. Yet anyone who feels a measure of empathy and gratitude toward that great country, the United States, still finds it difficult to accept.
这场自我毁灭的最新篇章是华盛顿决定在俄乌战争中向俄罗斯提供财政支持。这一举动浓缩了特朗普主义的大量基因：领导人反复无常的心血来潮、对俄罗斯的根本性误解、对民主的漠视，以及对弗拉基米尔·普京阿谀奉承的屈从。
The latest chapter in this self-destruction is Washington's decision to provide financial support to Russia in its war against Ukraine. This act encapsulates much of Trumpism's DNA: the volatility of the leader's whims, a fundamental misunderstanding of Russia, indifference to democracy and submission to Vladimir Putin's flattery.
一个表面友好的国家——乌克兰——遭到了背叛。这一决定违反了国会刚刚通过的一项法律。此举在未通知欧洲国家——原则上这些国家是美国的“盟友”——的情况下实施。所有这些加在一起，等于在支持另一个大国俄罗斯，而俄罗斯正积极参与伊朗在海湾地区针对美国利益的行动……战略灾难 周五（10月16日），特朗普叫停了一系列对俄罗斯的制裁，这些制裁旨在施压普京停止其对邻国乌克兰近五年的战争。
An ostensibly friendly nation, Ukraine, is betrayed. The decision is made in violation of a law just passed by Congress. This move is carried out without informing the Europeans – countries that are, in principle, "allies" of the United States. All together, it adds up to supporting another power, Russia, which is actively participating in Iran's campaign against American interests in the Gulf region…Strategic disaster On Friday, October 16, Trump torpedoed a series of sanctions imposed on Russia to pressure Putin to halt his war of nearly five years against neighboring Ukraine.
根据10月9日签署的一项协议，美国将购买越来越多的俄罗斯柴油——这直接惠及俄罗斯总统的战争预算，并鼓励他继续侵略。对美国而言，官方声称的目标是增加国内柴油供应、降低加油站油价。其野心是：向共和党选民表明总统关心他们的疾苦。真实目标：将11月3日中期选举中预期的失败降至最低。
America is set to purchase increasing amounts of Russian diesel under an agreement signed on October 9 – directly benefiting the Russian president's war budget and encouraging him to continue his aggression. For the US, the stated aim was to boost the domestic supply of diesel and lower prices at the pump. The ambition: to show Republican voters that the president cares about their struggles. The real goal: to minimize a likely defeat in the midterm elections on November 3.