华盛顿，10月30日 —— 随着中期选举进入最后冲刺阶段，前总统巴拉克·奥巴马和现任总统唐纳德·特朗普因“芝士蛋糕工厂”餐厅展开舌战，互相攻击，而选民即将决定国会控制权归属。
WASHINGTON, Oct 30 - Former President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump are having a food fight in the closing days of the midterm election campaign, trading barbs over the Cheesecake Factory as voters prepare to decide control of Congress.
奥巴马在10月24日俄亥俄州的一次竞选集会上嘲讽特朗普对白宫进行大量镀金装修，称总统把白宫搞得“就像萨达姆·侯赛因开了一家芝士蛋糕工厂”，此言一出，触动了特朗普的神经。本周，特朗普针对奥巴马的言论，对自己的装修风格和这家连锁餐厅进行了长篇大论的辩护。
Obama struck a nerve with Trump by mocking his gold-heavy White House renovations, saying during an October 24 campaign stop in Ohio that the president had the place “looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory." Trump clapped back at Obama this week with lengthy defenses of both his renovations and the restaurant chain.
这场餐厅风波是本次竞选中最新的一个离题插曲。在竞选中，特朗普曾严厉警告共产主义威胁，评论男性体格，还开玩笑说，如果共和党保住国会控制权，他承诺给美国人发放的5000美元付款，在佛罗里达州的海湖庄园吃顿饭都勉强不够。
The restaurant flap is the latest offbeat detour in a campaign in which Trump has warned darkly about communism, commented on the physique of men's bodies and joked that the $5,000 payments he is promising Americans if Republicans keep Congress would barely cover a meal at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
随着美国人因物价高企而苦不堪言，这成为周二选举前的核心议题，两人都试图将对方描绘成与选民经济焦虑脱节的一方。
Both men are trying to portray the other party as disconnected from voters' economic anxieties as Americans struggle with high prices, a central issue heading into Tuesday's election.
周三，奥巴马在佐治亚州莫罗为民主党助选时表示，特朗普及其追随者关注的焦点是他关于芝士蛋糕工厂的言论，而非通胀，“并希望你们不会注意到账单变高了、日子变难过了。”
Campaigning for Democrats in Morrow, Georgia, on Wednesday, Obama said Trump and his followers were focusing on his Cheesecake Factory remarks instead of on inflation "and hope that you won't notice your bills are higher and your life is tougher."
奥巴马说：“他们针对那个笑话动用了整个政府机器来回应，而不是针对通胀，而是针对那个笑话。他们没有解决实际问题的办法，所以宁愿让媒体和你们谈论芝士蛋糕工厂。”
“They mobilized a whole-of-government response to that joke, not to inflation, but to that joke," Obama said. "They don't have solutions to actual problems, so they'd rather have the media and you talking about the Cheesecake Factory."
针对保守派批评者认为他的玩笑嘲讽了这家连锁餐厅的顾客，奥巴马回应说：“我是两个女儿的父亲。你们以为我不去芝士蛋糕工厂就能熬过她们的童年吗？” 特朗普向来不会对人身攻击置之不理，他在得克萨斯州和密西西比州的竞选集会上抓住奥巴马的言论进行反击。
Responding to conservative critics who suggested his joke mocked patrons of the restaurant chain, Obama said: "I am the father of two daughters. Do you think I could have survived their childhood without going to the Cheesecake Factory?" Trump, never one to let a personal jibe go unanswered, seized on Obama's remarks during campaign stops in Texas and Mississippi.
“每一片他吃的生菜都必须完美无瑕，而我没那么挑剔，”特朗普在得克萨斯州科珀斯克里斯蒂发表讲话时说道，一边挥舞双臂，仿佛在比划生菜叶的形状。
"Every piece of lettuce he eats has to be perfect, and I'm not that choosy," Trump said in Corpus Christi, Texas, waving his arms around as if in the shape of a lettuce leaf.
特朗普指责奥巴马因嘲笑这家餐厅连锁店而显得精英主义；该连锁店以菜单页数繁多、装饰风格折衷著称，其中可包括埃及风格的柱子和棕榈树。特朗普同时驳回了关于他白宫装修的批评。
Trump accused Obama of being elitist for mocking the restaurant chain, known for its multi-paged menu and an eclectic decor that can include Egyptian-style columns and palm trees, and dismissed complaints about his White House renovations.
“你要是说这是‘芝士蛋糕工厂’，那正说明你为什么是个烂总统，”特朗普周一在对记者的谈话中嘲讽奥巴马。
“For you to say it’s a Cheesecake Factory, that just shows why you were a lousy president,” Trump taunted Obama in comments to reporters on Monday.
美国财政部长斯科特·贝森特周二也加入了这场舆论战，他在华盛顿的“芝士蛋糕工厂”吃了一份法式蘸汁芝士汉堡，并表示“玛莎葡萄园岛那帮人”应该去这家连锁店尝尝。奥巴马在马萨诸塞州这个高档岛屿上拥有一处住宅。
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joined the fray on Tuesday, eating a French dip cheeseburger at the Cheesecake Factory in Washington and saying "the Martha's Vineyard set" should give the chain a try. Obama owns a home on the upscale Massachusetts island.
这一插曲是这场可追溯至2011年竞争关系的最新升温。当时，特朗普因虚假指控奥巴马并非出生在美国而声名鹊起，随后奥巴马在白宫记者协会晚宴上的发言中嘲讽了他。
The episode is the latest flare-up in a rivalry that stretches back to 2011, when Trump gained political prominence by falsely accusing Obama of not being born in the US and Obama later mocked him in remarks at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.
在今年的中期选举竞选期间，民主党人指责特朗普与普通美国民众的关切脱节，而自与伊朗开战以来，特朗普反复淡化汽油价格上涨的问题。
During this year's midterm campaign, Democrats have accused Trump of being out of touch with everyday Americans' concerns, while Trump has repeatedly played down higher gas prices since the war with Iran began.
本周，特朗普在得克萨斯州谈到民众应如何花费他提议的、如果共和党保持对国会的控制将发给美国人的5000美元支票时，又给了对手一个攻击口子。
Trump provided his opponents another opening this week when he talked in Texas about how people should spend the $5,000 checks he has proposed sending to Americans if Republicans retain control of Congress.
“你甚至可以来马阿拉歌庄园，”特朗普说。“问题是，拿5000美元顶多只能买个汉堡，或许再加个小甜点。” 路透社
“You could even come to Mar-a-Lago," Trump said. "The problem is that for $5,000 the most you’ll be able to buy is a hamburger and maybe a small dessert.”REUTERS