Republican Party under Trump Offers Two Options: All In or Out
特朗普领导下的共和党给出了两个选择:要么绝对忠诚,要么出局
By Jonathan Martin and Maggie Haberman
文/乔纳森·马丁,玛吉·哈伯曼
BIRMINGHAM, Mich-By the summer of 2017, Dave Trott, a two-term Republican congressman,
(伯明翰,密歇根州)到2017年夏天时,对特朗普的反复无常
was worried enough about President Trump's erratic behavior and his flailing attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act
以及他一次又一次试图废除《平价医疗法案》的做法已经忍无可忍的戴夫·特洛特,此人已连任两届共和党众议员,
that he criticized the president in a closed-door meeting with fellow G.O.P. lawmakers.
直接在与共和党议员的非公开会议上对总统予以了指责。
The response was instantaneous — but had nothing to do with the substance of Mr.Trott's concerns.
他的指责即刻得到了回应——只不过,得到的是跟他担忧的问题没有丝毫关系的回应。
"Dave, you need to know somebody has already told the White House what you said," he recalled a colleague telling him.
“戴夫,你得知道,有人已经把你的话传给白宫了,”他回忆一位同事曾对他说道。
"Be ready for a barrage of tweets."
“你就准备好接受一连串推文的攻击吧。”
Mr. Trott got the message:
特洛特明白他的意思:
To defy Mr. Trump is to invite the president's wrath, ostracism within the party and a premature end to a career in Republican politics.
公然反抗特朗普必然会招致总统的愤怒、同党的排斥,以及共和党政治生涯的夭折。
Mr. Trott decided not to seek re-election in his suburban Detroit district, concluding that running as anti-Trump Republican was untenable,
特洛特决定不参加他所在的底特律郊区的连任选举,因为他断定,要参加连任选举,反特朗普这样的立场根本不堪一击,
and joining a wave of Republican departures from Congress that has left those who remain more devoted to the president than ever.
于是,他选择了加入离开国会的那批共和党人的队伍,这些人的离开让选择继续留下的那些人变得比以往任何时候都忠诚于总统了。
"If I was still there and speaking out against the president, what would happen to me?"
“如果我继续留在国会,公开反对总统我会是什么样的下场?”
Mr. Trott said before answering his own question:
特洛特还未回答自己的问题便就问道:
Mr. Trump would have lashed out and pressured House G.O.P. leaders to punish him.
特朗普必然会对众议院共和党领导人予以猛烈抨击,同时向他们施压,让他们惩罚特洛特。
Just under four years after he began his takeover of a party to which he had little connection,
就在他接手一个原本跟他并无多大关系的政党即将年满四载之际,
Mr. Trump enters 2020 burdened with the ignominy of being the first sitting president to seek re-election after being impeached.
特朗普将背负着成为美国历史上首位还没连任就已陷入弹劾困境的在任总统这一耻辱迈入2020年。
But he does so wearing a political coat of armor built on total loyalty from G.O.P. activists and their representatives in Congress.
他却给自己披上了一件用共和党激进分子的绝对忠诚和他们在国会的势力铸成的政治盔甲。
If he does not enjoy the broad admiration Republicans afforded Ronald Reagan,
即便他没有得到共和党人给予罗纳德·里根那样的一致赞赏,
he is more feared by his party's lawmakers than any occupant of the Oval Office since at least Lyndon Johnson.
他也算得上至少是林登·约翰逊总统以后共和党议员最为惧怕的总统办公室主人。
His iron grip was never firmer than over the last two months,
众议院就特朗普因滥用权力,妨碍国会被弹劾一事展开的调查本周三才结束,
during the House inquiry that concluded Wednesday with Mr. Trump's impeachment on charges of abuse of power and obstructing Congress.
过去两个月,特朗普的铁腕手腕变得前所未有的强硬。
No House Republican supported either article, or even authorized the investigation in September,
众议院的共和党人皆未复议两条指控中的任何一条,甚至都没有在9月份授权启动调查,
and in hearing after hearing into the president's dealings with Ukraine, they defended him as a victim of partisan fervor.
在就总统与乌克兰之间的往来召开的一次又一次听证会上,他们都在为他辩护,称他是党派狂热的受害者。
One Republican even said that Jesus had received fairer treatment before his crucifixion than Mr. Trump did during his impeachment.
一名共和党人甚至表示,与特朗普在弹劾期间受到的不公待遇相比,耶稣在被钉死在十字架上之前受到的待遇都算公平的了。
Perhaps more revealing, some G.O.P. lawmakers who initially said Mr. Trump's phone call
一些最初认为特朗普与乌克兰总统的通话有失妥当的共和党议员后来都收回了他们的批评,
with the president of Ukraine was inappropriate later dropped their criticism.
他们的这一转变一或许更能说明问题。
People close to Mr. Trump attributed the shift both to his public defense of the call as "perfect"
与特朗普关系密切的知情人士认为,他们的这一转变不仅有特朗普公开辩护那通电话“没有任何问题”的原因,
and to private discussions he and his allies had with concerned lawmakers.
也有特朗普及其盟友与有关议员展开了私下谈话的原因。
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