这期的标题是 - Donald Trump has no grasp of what it means to be president
特朗普真是不懂成为总统意味着什么
U-turns, self-regard and equivocation are not what it takes
前后不一，利己，模棱两可绝对不是它需要的
DEFENDERS of President Donald Trump offer two arguments in his favour—that he is a businessman who will curb the excesses of the state; and that he will help America stand tall again by demolishing the politically correct taboos of left-leaning, establishment elites. From the start, these arguments looked like wishful thinking. After Mr Trump’s press conference in New York on August 15th they lie in ruins.
特朗普的辩护者们会有两个观点来为他说话，一是他是个商人，可以控制国家的过度行为。二是他会消除那些左倾精英阶级“政治正确”的禁忌，帮助美国再次崛起。从一开始，这些论调就看起来有些一厢情愿，在特朗普8月15号的记者发布会之后，一切都彻底毁掉了
The unscripted remarks were his third attempt to deal with violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend. In them the president stepped back from Monday’s—scripted—condemnation of the white supremacists who had marched to protest against the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee, a Confederate general, and fought with counter-demonstrators, including some from the left. In New York, as his new chief of staff looked on dejected, Mr Trump let rip, stressing once again that there was blame “on both sides”. He left no doubt which of those sides lies closer to his heart.
在上周末，没有演讲稿的这次讲话，已经是他的第三次尝试处理弗吉尼亚州夏洛茨维尔的暴力冲突事件。总统的立场从周一那次备好稿的讲话退了回去，周一他谴责了那些反对移除罗伯特.李将军雕像的白人至上主义者，他们和示威者起了冲突，包括一些左派人士。在纽约，他新上任的办公室主任看起来很沮丧，特朗普同志讲话肆无忌惮，双方各打50大板。这让人们看清楚他内心深处到底是站哪一边的
Mr Trump is not a white supremacist. He repeated his criticism of neo-Nazis and spoke out against the murder of Heather Heyer . Even so, his unsteady response contains a terrible message for Americans. Far from being the saviour of the Republic, their president is politically inept, morally barren and temperamentally unfit for office.
特朗普同志并不是个白人至上主义者。他重申了对新纳粹分子的谴责，并对Heather Heyer的遇害发表了讲话。即便是这样，他那左右摇摆的反应对于美国人来说也包含了一个可怕的消息。他们的总统政治无能，道德贫瘠，而且不适合公职，也根本不是国家的救世主
Self-harm
Start with the ineptness. In last year’s presidential election Mr Trump campaigned against the political class to devastating effect. Yet this week he has bungled the simplest of political tests: finding a way to condemn Nazis. Having equivocated at his first press conference on Saturday, Mr Trump said what was needed on Monday and then undid all his good work on Tuesday—briefly uniting Fox News and Mother Jones in their criticism, surely a first. As business leaders started to resign en masse from his advisory panels, the White House disbanded them. Mr Trump did, however, earn the endorsement of David Duke, a former Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.
自残
先从无能开始。去年的总统选举上，特朗普同志硬钢当时的政治阶层，带来了破坏性影响。但这周他就把最简单的政治测试给搞砸了，你只要怒怼纳粹就好了啊！周六的新闻发布会上他的态度就模棱两可，说下周一我们需要什么，结果周二就完全推倒重来，逼着福克斯新闻和琼斯母亲杂志合起伙来批评他，这还是有史以来头一遭。随着商界的领袖纷纷从他的智囊团辞职，白宫解散了他们。特朗普倒是赢得了David Duke，一个前3K党巫师的认可
The extreme right will stage more protests across America. Mr Trump has complicated the task of containing their marches and keeping the peace. The harm will spill over into the rest of his agenda, too. His latest press conference was supposed to be about his plans to improve America’s infrastructure, which will require the support of Democrats. He needlessly set back those efforts, as he has so often in the past. “Infrastructure week” in June was drowned out by an investigation into Russian meddling in the election—an investigation Mr Trump helped bring about by firing the director of the FBI in a fit of pique. Likewise, repealing Obamacare collapsed partly because he lacked the knowledge and charisma to win over rebel Republicans. He reacted to that setback by belittling the leader of the Senate Republicans, whose help he needs to pass legislation. So much for getting things done.
极端右派势力会在美国各地发起更多的抗议。特朗普同志把限制他们示威，保持和平这么简单一事儿搞复杂了。这个失误也会波及到他议程的其他方面。他最近的一次记者招待会本该提出振兴美国的基础设施的方案，这需要民主党的支持。他本不需要撤回之前的努力，虽说他经常这么干。6月的“基建”周就因为调查俄国人是否遭操控选举没搞成，其间特朗普还闹情绪一样的撤掉了FBI局长。同样的，废除奥巴马医改也部分搞砸了，因为他缺乏知识和魅力来赢得反对派共和党人的支持。他通过贬低参议院共和党领袖的方式来应对这次失败，但这人是他想要立法就必须拉拢的人。他需要干的事儿太多了
Mr Trump’s inept politics stem from a moral failure. Some counter-demonstrators were indeed violent, and Mr Trump could have included harsh words against them somewhere in his remarks. But to equate the protest and the counter-protest reveals his shallowness. Video footage shows marchers carrying fascist banners, waving torches, brandishing sticks and shields, chanting “Jews will not replace us”. Footage of the counter-demonstration mostly shows average citizens shouting down their opponents. And they were right to do so: white supremacists and neo-Nazis yearn for a society based on race, which America fought a world war to prevent. Mr Trump’s seemingly heartfelt defence of those marching to defend Confederate statues spoke to the degree to which white grievance and angry, sour nostalgia is part of his world view.
特胖普同志的政治无能其实源自他的道德缺失。一些反游行人士的确是很暴力，特朗普同志本该在他的讲话中用激烈的言辞谴责他们。但把游行和反游行两边各打五十大板显示出他的肤浅。录像显示，游行者扛着法西斯的标语，挥舞着火炬，棍棒和盾牌，喊着"犹太人不会取代我们".而反游行那边大多只是一些普通的市民冲着他们的对手大喊大叫，而且他们这么干没问题：白人至上主义者和新纳粹分子渴望以种族为基础的社会，而这正是美国不惜参加世界大战所竭力阻止的。特朗普同志似乎对那些保卫南方联盟雕像的游行者有种发自内心的袒护，这在一定程度上说明了白人的不满和愤怒，酸溜溜的怀旧情绪本就是他世界观的一部分。
At the root of it all is Mr Trump’s temperament. In difficult times a president has a duty to unite the nation. Mr Trump tried in Monday’s press conference, but could not sustain the effort for even 24 hours because he cannot get beyond himself. A president needs to rise above the point-scoring and to act in the national interest. Mr Trump cannot see beyond the latest slight. Instead of grasping that his job is to honour the office he inherited, Mr Trump is bothered only about honouring himself and taking credit for his supposed achievements.
这些所有问题的根源都是特朗普同志的性情。困难时期，作为一个总统应该团结国家。特朗普同志也的确在周一开了发布会，尝试这么干，但是连24小时都没维持得了，因为过不去自己那一关。一个总统应该能够超越自己，把国家利益置于首位。特朗普同志做不到见微知著。理解不了他的工作本该是给传到他手上的白宫添砖加瓦，而他却只关心自身的荣誉和成就。
Presidents have come in many forms and still commanded the office. Ronald Reagan had a moral compass and the self-knowledge to delegate political tactics. LBJ was a difficult man but had the skill to accomplish much that was good. Mr Trump has neither skill nor self-knowledge, and this week showed that he does not have the character to change.
“总统”有许多种形式个风格，但不影响只会整个办公室。里根有一个道德指南针且有委派政治策略的自知之明。勒布朗詹姆斯不是那么好相处，但拥有可以成就伟大的技能。特朗普同志是一没技能，二没自知之明，这周显示了他也没有改变自己的品质
This is a dangerous moment. America is cleft in two. After threatening nuclear war with North Korea, musing about invading Venezuela and equivocating over Charlottesville, Mr Trump still has the support of four-fifths of Republican voters. Such popularity makes it all the harder for the country to unite.
这是个危险的时刻，美国被分裂成了两部分。在威胁朝鲜核战争，“号称要”入侵委内瑞拉，和夏洛茨维尔问题上的模棱两可之后，特朗普同志依旧拥有五分之四共和党选民的支持。这种欢迎度使得团结整个国家变得难上加难
This leads to the question of how Republicans in public life should treat Mr Trump. Those in the administration face a hard choice. Some will feel tempted to resign. But his advisers, particularly the three generals sitting at the top of the Pentagon, the National Security Council and as Mr Trump’s chief of staff, are better placed than anyone to curb the worst instincts of their commander-in-chief.
这给共和党人出了个难题，在公共场合该如何面对特朗普呢？尤其是管理层。有些会很有冲动想要辞职，但是他的顾问们，尤其是坐镇五角大楼，国家安全局和特朗普首席幕僚的三位将军，是遏制他们这位指挥官脑子秀逗的最佳人选
An Oval Office-shaped hole
For Republicans in Congress the choice should be clearer. Many held their noses and backed Mr Trump because they thought he would advance their agenda. That deal has not paid off. Mr Trump is not a Republican, but the solo star of his own drama. By tying their fate to his, they are harming their country and their party. His boorish attempts at plain speaking serve only to poison national life. Any gains from economic reform—and the booming stockmarket and low unemployment owe more to the global economy, tech firms and dollar weakness than to him—will come at an unacceptable price.
一个椭圆形的洞
在国会的那些共和党人选择清晰的多。很多人捏着鼻子支持特朗普，因为对他们仕途有利。当然这到现在还没有兑现。特朗普不是一个共和党人，而是一个陶醉于自我剧本的单飞明星。把命运跟他绑在一起，这些人是在伤害他们的国家和政党。他那种脱稿讲话完全是一种笨拙的尝试,只会毒害国民生活。经济改革，上涨的股市和降低的失业率更多要归功于全球经济，科技公司和美元的疲软，而不是他，如果是的话那代价可就大了去了。
Republicans can curb Mr Trump if they choose to. Rather than indulging his outrages in the hope that something good will come of it, they must condemn them. The best of them did so this week. Others should follow.
共和党人可以遏制特朗普同志，如果他们想的话。与其纵容他的暴行，寄希望于会有好的结果，他们必须谴责他。他们中最棒的那些人这周就是这么干的，其他的小伙伴也应该速度跟上
