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国会山报

共和党备战中期选举惨败,特朗普却大谈倒影池藻类问题?GOP braces for midterms wipeout as Trump rants about Reflecting Pool algae?

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备受期待的中期选举来临。今天,选民有机会表达态度,表明是否认可特朗普总统及共和党在他第二任期内的作为,还是更倾向于将权力交给众议院和参议院的民主党人——他们将立即对特朗普家族、共和党官员以及埃隆·马斯克等共和党大额捐赠人展开调查。竞选活动进入最后冲刺阶段,以下是特朗普在向选民发出最后呼吁、希望他们继续支持自己、不让极左派民主党人阻挠其议程时的心声。

The long-awaited midterms are here. Today, voters have a chance to sound off on whether they endorse the actions of President Trump and the Republican Party throughout his second term in office, or whether they would feel more comfortable handing the reins over to House and Senate Democrats, who will immediately launch investigations of the Trump family, Republican officials and top Republican donors like Elon Musk. The campaigns are making their closing arguments, and here was what was on Trump’s mind as he made his final pitch to voters that they should stick by him, and not allow far-left Democrats to thwart his agenda.

哎呀。看,我很高兴总统终于搞定了倒影池的藻类问题,此前一次搞砸的尝试涉及一名把事情弄糟的承包商。作为哥伦比亚特区居民,我为喷泉恢复运行、国民警卫队的驻守遏制了犯罪而感到高兴。关于特朗普对首都的影响,有许多积极的方面可说。但特朗普竞选的不是哥伦比亚特区市长。他是美国总统,而他的共和党候选人在本应稳操胜券的州面临严峻挑战。

Oh dear. Look, I am glad that the president has finally gotten that Reflecting Pool algae under control, after a bungled attempt that involved a contractor who screwed it up. As a D.C. resident, I’m glad the fountains are working again, and that the presence of the National Guard is deterring crime. There’s a lot of positive things to say about Trump’s impact on the nation’s capital. But Trump is not running to be mayor of the district of Columbia. He is president of the United States, and his Republican candidates are facing significant challenges in states where they should be comfortably ahead.

他需要极度聚焦于说服这些州的选民必须继续支持共和党,因为另一种选择会让一个濒临屈服于社会主义的对手政党壮大声势。他需要解释说,他正在结束在伊朗的战争并着手解决柴油价格问题。他需要吹嘘政府在削减繁苛法规、通过精减联邦员工队伍提高政府效率方面取得的成果。他可以谈谈自己为遏制非法移民所做的努力,这是选民最关心的问题之一。

He needs to be laser focused on convincing voters in those states that they have to stick with the GOP, because the alternative is to embolden a rival party on the precipice of succumbing to socialism. He needs to explain that he’s wrapping up the war in Iran and working on those diesel prices. He needs to tout the successes of the administration on eliminating burdensome regulations and making government more efficient by reducing the size of the federal workforce. He can talk about what he’s done to curb illegal immigration, one of the major concerns of voters.

或许最重要的是,他能提醒美国民众,民主党将向财富创造、住房建设、新建工程以及以税收和监管形式体现的你的银行账户发动战争。这是一个准备通过在医疗和教育上花费更多资金来大幅扩张联邦政府的政党,而我们都知道这实际上不会让这些服务变得更好。修缮倒影池并非密歇根、得克萨斯或阿拉斯加选民关心的主要问题。

And perhaps most of all, he can remind the American people that the Democratic Party is going to wage war on wealth creation, on housing creation, on new construction, and on your bank account in the form of taxes and regulation. This is a party that is ready to massively expand the federal government by spending way more money on health care and education, which we all know will not actually make these services better. Fixing the Reflecting Pool is not a major concern of voters in Michigan or Texas or Alaska.

这才是个问题。看,为时已晚,无法撤销代价高昂的伊朗战争,或让“政府效率部”计划更成功,或通过聘用更称职的人员来应对腐败指控。但让议程重回正轨,或指出对手的缺陷,永远不嫌晚。我不认为华盛顿特区的公园项目能完成这一任务。如今,我们都看到了民调,目前预测共和党将遭遇全面溃败。如果民调准确,共和党将失去对众议院的控制权,也将失去参议院的控制权——本该拥有结构性优势的参议院。

And that’s a problem. Look, it’s too late to undo the costly Iran War, or make the DOGE initiative more successful, or address corruption charges by hiring more competent personnel. But it’s never too late to get the agenda back on track, or to point out the flaws on the other side. I don’t think D.C. park projects is accomplishing that task. Now. we’ve all seen the polls, which are currently predicting a total GOP wipeout. If polls are accurate, the Republicans will lose control of the House and also the Senate, where they should have had a structural advantage.

如果特朗普再次击败民调,我们终于可以将整个民调行业扔进历史的垃圾堆。但值得注意的是,预测市场也显示总统所在党派表现严重不佳。这不是个好兆头。看来一切将取决于缅因、得克萨斯、俄亥俄、密歇根、阿拉斯加,以及可能的爱荷华。如果民主党无法守住密歇根的席位,则需要在其他所有地方都取得极其出色的战绩,这在我看来不太可能。

If Trump beats the polls again, we can finally consign this entire industry to the dustbin of history. But it’s worth noting that prediction markets also have the president’s party badly under-performing. Not a good sign. It looks like it’s all going to come down to Maine, Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Alaska and possibly Iowa. If the Dems fail to defend their Michigan seat, then they would need to have an extremely good night everywhere else, which does not seem very likely to me.

另一方面,如果共和党失去得克萨斯,很可能会引发一场惨败。这就是目前的形势。总统在第二任期仍有许多事要完成,因此美国人需要决定:是希望看到这些成就,还是宁愿接受分裂政府通常带来的瘫痪和内斗。

On the other hand, if the GOP loses Texas, a bloodbath is likely to ensue. So that’s where things stand. The president still has much to accomplish in his second term, and so Americans need to decide if they want to see that happen or if they prefer the paralysis and infighting that is usually characteristic of divided government.

罗比·索夫是《国会山报》评论节目《崛起》的联合主持人,也是《理性》杂志的资深编辑。本专栏为其每日评论的编辑版文字记录。

Robby Soave is co-host of The Hill’s commentary show “Rising” and a senior editor for Reason Magazine. This column is an edited transcription of his daily commentary.

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