威尔·韦塞特，金胜民 华盛顿 —— 在今夏将终极格斗冠军赛（UFC）引入白宫草坪后，唐纳德·特朗普总统如今又将其带进了新闻发布室。
WILL WEISSERT, SEUNG MIN KIM WASHINGTON — After bringing UFC to the White House lawn this summer , President Donald Trump has now brought it to the briefing room, too.
特朗普周一与UFC总裁达纳·怀特一同意外现身记者面前，并短暂退至一旁，由这位老友接手回答提问 —— 这延续了一个始于周末的玩笑，当时特朗普称曾提议让怀特出任白宫新闻秘书。
Trump made a surprise appearance before reporters Monday with UFC chief Dana White and briefly stood aside as his longtime friend took questions — milking a joke that began over the weekend, when Trump said he had offered White the job of White House press secretary.
“我一直想这么干，”怀特开口说道，随即大声喊道：“谁有第一个问题？”随后他澄清道：“我毫无政治抱负。” 这个玩笑 —— 以及这场发布会 —— 是共和党在上周中期选举惨败以来，总统做出的一系列意外之举中的最新一例。特朗普此次现身发布室安排得极为仓促，官员们甚至来不及在讲台上贴上总统印章。
“I’ve always wanted to do this,” White said, before bellowing, “Who has the first question?”He then clarified, “I have zero political aspirations.”The joke — and the briefing — were the latest in a series of unexpected choices by the president since Republicans’ sweeping losses during last week’s midterm elections . Trump’s briefing room stop was so hastily organized that officials didn’t have time to affix the presidential seal to the lectern from which he spoke.
总统周六在社交媒体上宣布，想要“伟大的达纳·怀特，一位暴力的斗士和战士”担任下一任首席发言人 —— 这一举动让正在伦敦观看拳击比赛的怀特措手不及。“他给我打电话，告诉我他这么干了，”怀特周一表示，“我过去24小时的经历简直疯狂。” 特朗普说，他当时正经历“非常糟糕的媒体日”，觉得提议让怀特成为美国历史上第38任白宫新闻秘书可能博人一笑。
The president had announced on social media Saturday that he wanted “the Great Dana White, a violent Fighter and Warrior” as his next chief spokesman — catching White off-guard at a boxing match in London. “He called me and told me that he had done this,” White said Monday. “The last 24 hours of my life has been insane.”Trump said he had been having a “very bad press day” and thought suggesting White as the 38th White House press secretary in the nation’s history might be good for a laugh.
“我们想稍微开个玩笑，所以把达纳带来了，”特朗普说，“他会干得非常出色。” 现场一些记者也配合演出。有记者问怀特，关于为皮特·罗斯申请死后特赦一事，他是否有建议给特朗普；罗斯是美国职业棒球大联盟历史安打数纪录保持者。
“We thought we’d have a little fun and we brought Dana here,” Trump said. “He would be fantastic.”Some reporters in the press room played along. White was asked if he had any advice for Trump on the possibility of issuing a posthumous pardon for Pete Rose , baseball’s all-time hits leader.
怀特回应说：“我从不就任何事情向总统提供建议。但是的，我认为这很公平。”特朗普随即插话说：“我会给皮特·罗斯特赦。”怀特一度感叹道：“我真不敢相信你居然真的有问题要问我。”
“I don’t advise the president on anything ever,” White responded. “But yeah, I think it’s fair.”Trump then interjected to say, “I’d give Pete Rose a pardon.”At one point, White marveled, “I can’t believe you actually have questions for me.”
特朗普最终接管了局面。但在回答了约半小时关于中期选举、伊朗战争以及各种严肃议题的提问后，总统转向怀特问道：“你想当美国白宫新闻秘书，还是只想留在这个荒谬的UFC？”怀特说：“谢谢你的提议，”然后补充道：“我不想从政，不。”
Trump eventually took over. But after answering about half an hour of questions on the midterms, the war in Iran and a variety of serious topics, the president turned to White and asked, “Would you like to be press secretary of the United States of America” or “just want to stay with this ridiculous UFC?”“Thank you for the offer,” White said, before allowing, “I do not want to be in politics, no.”
在特朗普周六发帖后的几个小时里，白宫和UFC均未就此事是否属实予以澄清。随后在周日晚间，特朗普终于表示：“我是在开玩笑，但我认为达纳喜欢这个主意，而且他是个非常有能力的人。”特朗普作为总统一直乐于做打破常规、出人意料的事，但在大选期间他更加倾向于这种做法。
In the hours after Trump’s Saturday post landed, neither the White House nor UFC would provide clarity on whether it was serious . Then, on Sunday night, Trump finally said, “I was kidding, but I think Dana likes the idea, and he is a very capable guy.”Trump has long relished doing the norm-busting unexpected as president, but he’s leaned even more into that tendency around the election.
在投票开始的前一天，特朗普利用原本被宣传为阐述其结案陈词、说明为何其党派应继续控制国会的演讲机会，转而大谈他那耗资巨大且问题重重的林肯纪念堂倒影池翻修计划。
The day before balloting began, Trump used what was billed as a speech outlining his closing argument for why his party deserved to continue to control Congress to instead talk up his costly and problem-plagued effort to overhaul the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflecting Pool.
周三，在民主党在全国各地获胜、包括在得克萨斯、南卡罗来纳和堪萨斯等深红州赢得参议院席位后，他带记者参观了白宫舞厅的建筑工地，甚至在一根钢梁上签了名。
On Wednesday, after Democrats won all over the country, including notching Senate seats in deep red states like Texas, South Carolina and Kansas, he took reporters on a tour of the White House ballroom’s construction site and even signed a steel beam .
第二天，特朗普宣布椭圆形办公室将成为国家纪念碑——尽管这无法阻止未来总统撤销他塞进办公室的那些镀金装饰。
The following day, Trump declared the Oval Office would become a national monument — even though that won’t prevent future presidents from undoing the gilded flourishes he’s packed it with.
周五，白宫推广了一个光鲜亮丽的新网站，庆祝为特朗普建造一座高耸纪念拱门的计划，尽管法院已下令叫停该工程。
On Friday, the White House promoted a glitzy new website celebrating plans for a towering memorial arch in Trump’s honor, despite a court order blocking work on it.
白宫新闻秘书一职因特朗普试用凯蒂·扎卡里亚担任新闻秘书的短暂动荡周而空缺。她在唯一一次面对记者的亮相中表现吃力，五天后离职。自卡罗琳·利维特于8月底离职以来，该职位一直空缺。
The White House press secretary position is open due to the brief, tumultuous week when Trump tried out Katie Zacharia as press secretary. She struggled in her sole appearance before reporters and left the job after five days. The post had been vacant since Karoline Leavitt left at the end of August.
特朗普经常与怀特一起出席UFC赛事。两人相识数十年，怀特曾在最近三届共和党全国代表大会上发言。
Trump has frequently attended UFC events with White. The pair have been friends for decades, and White spoke at the last three Republican National Conventions.
特朗普甚至允许怀特的运动项目在6月占据白宫南草坪，以庆祝美国独立250周年和总统本人80岁生日。在“巨爪”下建起了一个铁丝网八角笼，“巨爪”是一个装有灯光、音响设备和大屏幕的类似飞船的金属拱门。
Trump even allowed White’s sport to take over the White House’s South Lawn in June for the celebration of America’s 250th year of independence and the president’s own 80th birthday. A wire-mesh Octagon was constructed under ” The Claw ,” a spaceship-like metal arch fitted with lights, sound equipment and large screens.
“他真的非常独特，”特朗普在白宫简报室形容这位朋友时说。“唯一的问题是，他会说一会儿，然后就会把你揍得半死。”
“He’s really very unique,” Trump said, describing his friend, in the White House briefing room. “The only problem is he’ll talk for a little while and then he’s going to beat the hell out of you.”