美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周五坚称，尽管竞选活动在决定国会控制权的选举前夕进入白热化阶段，共和党“依然有机会”在中期选举中取得成功。
President Donald Trump on Friday insisted Republicans “have a shot” at success in the US midterms despite a feverish end to the campaign for elections that will decide control of Congress.
特朗普改变主意，恢复了在堪萨斯州和爱荷华州的两场集会，此前一天他曾取消这些活动，此举引发了关于他健康状况以及竞选形势的疑问。
Trump reversed course and reinstated two rallies in Kansas and Iowa a day after cancelling them, a move which had raised questions about his health and about the state of the race.
特朗普提到他的集会时说：“全国各地这些集会都充满了如此深厚的爱”，随后接连抨击将于11月3日角逐众议院和参议院席位的民主党候选人。
“There’s such love in these all over the country,” Trump said, referring to his rallies, before rattling off a series of insults against Democratic candidates vying for House and Senate seats in the November 3 elections.
特朗普周五晚在佛罗里达州代托纳比奇对人群表示，举办集会“只有一个非常简单的理由：阻止仇恨美国的共产党人接管美国国会”。
Speaking late on Friday to a crowd in Daytona, Florida, Trump said the rallies were being held “for one very simple reason: to stop America-hating communists from taking over the United States Congress”.
特朗普重申承诺，如果共和党保持对国会两院的控制权，将向每位美国成年公民发放5000美元。专家质疑他是否拥有这样做的法律授权。
Trump reiterated his promise to give every adult American citizen US$5,000 if Republicans retained control of both Congressional chambers. Experts have questioned whether he has the legal authority to do that.
当天早些时候，特朗普向记者承认，在任总统所属政党在中期选举中往往会受挫。
Earlier in the day, Trump acknowledged to reporters that sitting presidents’ parties often suffered in midterm elections.
他补充道：“我认为我们有机会表现良好。也许会表现得非常好，但你知道，表现得相当不错。”
“I think we have a shot at doing well. Maybe very well, but you know, pretty well,” he added.
特朗普表示，他取消这两场活动是为了举行线上集会，但爱荷华州和堪萨斯州的共和党人“打电话来说，如果您能亲自去，效果会比电话集会好得多”。
Trump said that he had cancelled the two events to hold virtual rallies but that Republicans in Iowa and Kansas called “and they said if you could go, it would be better than a tele-rally”.
但这位80岁老人的言论远非对共和党在下周二投票中获胜机会的乐观评估。
But the 80-year-old’s comments were far from a robust assessment of Republican chances in next Tuesday’s vote.
共和党正在捍卫其在参议院53比47的多数优势，而民主党寻求夺取国会至少一个议院的控制权，以在特朗普任期最后两年遏制其立法议程。
Republicans are defending their 53-47 majority in the Senate, while Democrats are seeking to capture at least one chamber of Congress and curb Trump’s legislative agenda during his final two years in office.
特朗普将自己置于共和党中期选举战略的核心位置，希望能激发其“让美国再次伟大”（MAGA）基本盘的热情。
Trump has put himself at the centre of the Republicans’ midterm strategy, hoping it will fire up his Maga (Make America Great Again) base.
但特朗普低迷的支持率以及公众对伊朗战争和生活成本的愤怒，可能会拖累共和党的胜选前景。
But Trump’s dismal approval ratings and public anger over the Iran war and the cost of living may be a drag on Republican chances.
特朗普本周早些时候曾抱怨失声，周四被问及是否因“厌倦旅行”而取消堪萨斯州行程时，他发飙了。
Trump, who complained of losing his voice earlier this week, had lashed out on Thursday when he was asked if he was scrapping the Kansas trip because he was “sick of travelling”.
“我感觉很好，”特朗普厉声说道，称他不再需要访问堪萨斯州，因为共和党参议员罗杰·马歇尔“表现得很好”。
“I feel perfect,” Trump snapped, saying he no longer needed to visit Kansas because Republican Senator Roger Marshall was “doing very well”.
但政治策略师迈克·费希表示，特朗普的这一急转弯很可能是源于对美国历史上最高龄当选总统精力水平的质疑。
But Trump’s about-face was likely the result of the questions over the energy levels of America’s oldest-ever elected president, political strategist Mike Fahey said.
“我的猜测是，特朗普并不特别喜欢这种说法，把活动重新列入日程是扼杀这种说法的最快方式，”费希说，他是多场竞选活动的老将。
“My suspicion is that Trump didn’t particularly like that narrative, and putting the events back on the calendar was the fastest way to kill it,” said Fahey, a veteran of multiple election campaigns.
堪萨斯州和爱荷华州在2024年都大幅支持特朗普，但已成为共和党意想不到的战场。
Both Kansas and Iowa voted comfortably for Trump in 2024, but have emerged as unexpected battlegrounds for Republicans.
周五公布的数据显示，创纪录的4790万美国人已在美国中期选举中投票，关键战场州的投票率激增，登记民主党人领先于共和党人。这种激增在参议院竞选异常激烈的州尤其明显。
A record 47.9 million Americans have already voted in the US midterms, with participation surging in key battleground states and registered Democrats outpacing Republicans, figures showed on Friday. The surge is especially pronounced in states with fiercely contested Senate races.
早期中期选举选民中包括教皇利奥，他是天主教会首位出生于美国的教皇，也是首位已知在政治选举中投票的教皇。
Among the early midterm voters is Pope Leo, the Catholic Church’s first US-born pontiff – the first known time a pope has voted in a political election.
梵蒂冈周五表示，这位拥有14亿信徒的世界天主教会领袖、曾与特朗普发生冲突，已在芝加哥提交了邮寄选票。
The head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, who has clashed with Trump, submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago, the Vatican said on Friday.
特朗普曾敦促共和党人“把我当作候选人”参与中期选举，并指出他2016年和2024年的总统选举胜利在很大程度上超出了民调预期。他加强了针对移民、穆斯林和跨性别者的严厉言辞。
Trump has urged Republicans to “pretend I’m on the ballot” in the midterms, pointing to his presidential election wins in 2016 and 2024 which largely defied the polls. He has stepped up harsh rhetoric against migrants, Muslims and transgender people.
特朗普还多次警告称，如果共和党失利，他将面临第三次弹劾，尽管民主党可能更倾向于关注2028年总统选举。
Trump has also repeatedly warned that he would face a third impeachment if Republicans lose, although Democrats might be more likely to focus on the 2028 presidential election.
与此同时，民主党人担心特朗普不会接受共和党在中期选举中失利——就像他在2020年总统选举中所做的那样——因为他最近加大了选民舞弊的指控。
Democrats, meanwhile, fear Trump will not accept a Republican loss in the midterms – as he did in the 2020 presidential election – after he recently ramped up claims of voter fraud.
“我们在2020年经历了一场操纵的选举。我们绝不能再让这种事情发生，”特朗普在接受堪萨斯城KCMO电台采访时说。
“We had a rigged election in 2020. We cannot ever let that happen again,” Trump said in an interview with the KCMO radio station in Kansas City.
就在特朗普周五晚在佛罗里达州讲话之际，加利福尼亚州的一家联邦法院暂时阻止了美国司法部官员恐吓当地选举官员，而美国司法部正在就选票处理发布指令。
Around the time Trump was speaking in Florida late on Friday, a federal court in California temporarily blocked US justice officials from intimidating local election officials as the US Justice Department issues directives around the processing of ballots.