美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在访问得克萨斯州期间，展示了一艘他声称正在运载委内瑞拉石油的船只，他将在该州连续举行两场集会，希望提振共和党在一场至关重要的参议院竞选中的胜算。
United States President Donald Trump has featured a ship he said is carrying Venezuelan oil during a visit to Texas, where he will hold two rallies one after the other in the hopes of boosting Republican chances in a make-or-break Senate race.
周二，特朗普在科珀斯克里斯蒂发表讲话，这是他本竞选季第四次造访该州。他指着远处的一艘船说：“船上装着100万桶来自委内瑞拉的石油。”他补充称，这批货物是“得益于我们在最近与委内瑞拉的战争中取得的重大胜利”。
Speaking at Corpus Christi on Tuesday on his fourth trip to the state this campaign season, Trump pointed to a ship in the distance. “It’s got 1 million barrels of oil on it from Venezuela,” he said, adding the cargo was “thanks to our big victory in our recent war with Venezuela”.
特朗普强调石油议题之际，正值美国消费者因美以与伊朗的战争而面临高昂的化石燃料价格，这是即将到来的中期选举中的一个关键议题。“我们正在庆祝历史上最伟大的石油胜利，”特朗普说。
The emphasis on the oil comes as US consumers have wrestled with high fossil fuel prices amid the US-Israel war with Iran, a key issue in the upcoming midterm elections. “We’re celebrating the greatest oil victory in history,” Trump said.
目前尚不清楚这批石油是以何种借口运输的，也不清楚特朗普提供的细节是否准确。在美国于1月3日绑架委内瑞拉领导人尼古拉斯·马杜罗之前，美国已接收过委内瑞拉的原油货运，但今年以来这些转运有所增加。
It was not immediately clear under what pretext the oil had been shipped or whether the details Trump gave were correct. The US had received crude oil shipments from Venezuela before the US abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro on January 3, but those transfers have increased this year.
8月，特朗普政府宣布达成一项协议，授予五角大楼“北美蓝色能源合作伙伴公司”35%的股份，该新公司负责监管650亿桶已探明石油储量。白宫在9月表示，根据该协议的首批货物很可能将于11月运抵美国储备，尽管专家对该协议是否会产生任何短期影响表示怀疑。
In August, the Trump administration announced a deal giving the Pentagon a 35 percent stake in North America Blue Energy Partners, a new company overseeing 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. The White House said in September that the first shipment from the deal would likely hit US reserves in November, although experts have cast doubt on whether the deal will have any short-term impact.
当天早些时候，特朗普在对记者讲话时将这批货物称为委内瑞拉的“礼物”。该国临时领导人德尔西·罗德里格斯未就这批具体货运发表评论。在集会上，特朗普还提出让委内瑞拉成为“第51个州”。特朗普频繁造访得克萨斯州，凸显了该州对共和党的重要性。
Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Trump referred to the shipment as a “gift” from Venezuela. The country’s interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez, has not commented on the specific shipment. At the rally, Trump also floated making Venezuela the “51st state”. Trump’s frequent visits to Texas underscore the state’s significance for Republicans.
特朗普在共和党初选中背书肯·帕克斯顿，对抗现任参议员约翰·科宁。深陷丑闻的帕克斯顿如今面临民主党人詹姆斯·塔拉里科的严峻挑战，后者是一名长老会神学院学生。
Trump endorsed Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Republican primary over incumbent Senator John Cornyn. The scandal-ridden Paxton now faces a punishing contest against Democrat James Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian.
民调一直显示塔拉里科领先帕克斯顿，尽管这一领先优势主要维持在误差范围内。RealClearPolitics 对民调的平均值显示，塔拉里科以 1.7 个百分点领先帕克斯顿。
Polls have regularly shown Talarico leading Paxton, although that lead has largely remained within the margin of error. A RealClearPolitics average of polls had Talarico leading Paxton by 1.7 points.
塔拉里科的胜利将标志着这个自 1994 年以来未曾选出过民主党人担任全州性职务的州发生巨变。
Talarico’s victory would mark a sea change in a state that has not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 1994.
这也将代表对特朗普的重大谴责，其共和党正在为维持对参议院微弱的控制权而战。民主党普遍被预测将在 11 月 3 日的投票中夺得美国众议院的控制权。
It would also represent a major rebuke to Trump, whose Republican Party is fighting to maintain its narrow control of the Senate. Democrats are widely projected to take control of the US House of Representatives in the November 3 vote.
塔拉里科在竞选冲刺阶段聚焦于帕克斯顿多年的腐败指控，并将其与选民对生活成本的担忧形成对比。
Talarico has used the final stretch of the race to focus on years of corruption allegations against Paxton, while drawing a contrast to voters’ affordability concerns.
“肯·帕克斯顿代表了这个破败、腐败体制的一切弊端，”他在上周休斯顿的一次活动中表示。
“Ken Paxton represents everything that’s wrong with this broken, corrupt system,” he said during an event in Houston last week.
帕克斯顿试图将塔拉里科描绘为对得克萨斯州过于“激进”，称其政策将损害一个以亲商政策著称的州。
Paxton has sought to portray Talarico as too “radical” for Texas, saying his policies would hurt a state known for its pro-business policies.
特朗普和其他政府官员，特别是副总统 J.D. 万斯，经常聚焦文化议题，曲解塔拉里科过去关于跨性别者权利和边境安全的言论。
Trump and other administration officials, notably Vice President JD Vance, have regularly focused on cultural issues, distorting Talarico’s past comments on transgender rights and border security.
在科珀斯克里斯蒂的讲话中，特朗普重复了这些攻击，并敦促支持者像他本人在选票上一样去投票。
Speaking in Corpus Christi, Trump repeated those attacks and urged his supporters to vote as if he were on the ballot.
“如果你们出去投票，如果你们都去投票，我们将大获全胜，”特朗普说。
“If you go out, and if you all vote, we win in a landslide,” Trump said.