美国国家公共电台 NPR These Days, Business Travel By Trump's Sons Is Costly And Complicated

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The president's two adult sons, Eric and Donald Trump¹ Jr., have been traveling the world since their dad's election. They work for the Trump Organization. They run it now, in fact. Their business travel comes at a cost to U.S. taxpayers², as NPR's Jackie Northam reports.

JACKIE NORTHAM, BYLINE³: In the first week of January, Eric Trump took a trip to Uruguay to check progress on an unfinished Trump Tower. About a month later, he was in the Dominican Republic seeing whether an earlier resort project could be revived. He joined his brother Donald Jr. a couple weeks later at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a Trump-branded golf course in Dubai. And the two popped up last week in Canada for the opening of a new Trump hotel.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DONALD TRUMP JR: Vancouver's truly one of the great cities of the world, and it was so fitting for the Trump brand.

NORTHAM: Since Donald Trump became president, his sons' travel has become much more complicated and expensive, especially overseas. Brendan Doherty is a Naval⁴ Academy professor who tracks presidential travel. He says the president's sons are guaranteed round the clock Secret Service protection, and overseas trips usually involve coordination⁵ with local security forces and often U.S. embassies.

BRENDAN DOHERTY: When you have a presidential family, like the Trump family, that is so involved in international business, the logistical issues and the costs and the security risks are all more substantial than we're used to seeing.

NORTHAM: Doherty says it's very difficult to get hard figures for the costs for hotels, travel, overtime⁶ especially for the Secret Service. A spokesman for the Secret Service said it doesn't talk about its protection operations. Jonathan Wackrow spent 14 years in the Secret Service, including providing protection for President Obama's family. He says it's important to protect the president's children, whatever the cost.

JONATHAN WACKROW: If Eric Trump is traveling and let's say, God forbid, gets attacked and hurt, killed, imagine the impact, the psychological impact, that that would have on the president himself. So by protecting the children, you're, by default, protecting the sanctity of the office of the presidency⁷.

NORTHAM: Robert Gordon, a law professor at Stanford University who specializes in legal history and ethics⁸, doesn't dispute the need for Secret Service protection for the president's family. But he says they should start paying for it themselves if they're using it while on private business.

ROBERT GORDON: Given that this is supplied to them free by the government, shouldn't they exercise a little common sense and restraint in how far they use this perk⁹?

NORTHAM: Tom Fitton, the president of Judicial¹⁰ Watch, says this is just part of the cost built into this presidency.

TOM FITTON: People hired this president in part based on his business success, and there are extra costs associated with that business success as a result.

NORTHAM: Fitton says it wouldn't be right to suggest Trump's sons should stop conducting business despite the high cost.

Jackie Northam, NPR News, Washington.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

5 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

6 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。

7 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

8 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

9 perk   

n.额外津贴；赏钱；小费；

参考例句：

• His perks include a car provided by the firm.他的额外津贴包括公司提供的一辆汽车。
• And the money is,of course,a perk.当然钱是额外津贴。

10 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。