美国国家公共电台 NPR Man Who Says He Connected Trump Jr. To Russian Lawyer Put Trump Sr. In A Music Video

 

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

Donald Trump¹ Jr. says he agreed to that meeting last June at the request of an acquaintance from the Miss Universe pageant². The Washington Post says that person was Rob Goldstone. He's a British-born music promoter. Goldstone says he set up the meeting on behalf of a client, a Russian pop singer who's also close to President Trump. NPR's Jim Zarroli explains.

JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE³: The meeting with the president's son came together through a complex network of connections involving the worlds of politics, global music and international real estate. And the chain of events that led to last year's meeting stretches back to 2012. That's when Donald Trump decided⁴ the next Miss Universe pageant, which he owned at the time, would be held in Moscow.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Everybody wanted the Miss Universe. We had 18 countries that wanted it. They fought really hard to get it.

ZARROLI: The pageant would take place in Moscow's Crocus City Mall, a giant venue⁵ owned by Aras Agalarov. Agalarov was born in Azerbaijan, but he later moved to Russia, where he made a fortune in real estate. Audrey Altstadt is a professor of history at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

AUDREY ALTSTADT: He's got quite a footprint in Moscow, and Forbes estimates his wealth at $1.3 billion.

ZARROLI: Agalarov and Trump would become, by all appearances, fast friends. They even reportedly discussed building projects, which never got off the ground. Trump also became friendly with Agalarov's son Emin, a well-known Russian pop singer. He even appeared in one of Emin Agalarov's music videos.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IN ANOTHER LIFE")

EMIN AGALAROV: (Singing) You can keep the lights on. We can keep tonight going, but we'll still be falling apart.

ZARROLI: In the video, Emin Agalarov is shown daydreaming⁶ through a business meeting. He fantasizes about Miss Universe contestants⁷. Then suddenly he's awakened⁸ by the man running the meeting, Trump himself.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TRUMP: Emin, let's get with it. You're always late. You're just another pretty face. I'm really tired of you. You're fired.

ZARROLI: And here is how all this is connected. Emin Agalarov is represented by Rob Goldstone, a British-born music promoter based in New York who is a judge in the Miss Universe contest. Goldstone, who is a colorful character, was once interviewed on NPR's Talk of the Nation about traveling when you're overweight.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

ROB GOLDSTONE: I call myself a fat traveler, but some people hate that word, so we'll use plus-size...

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: OK.

GOLDSTONE: ...And fat. We'll mix it up a bit.

ZARROLI: Goldstone told The Washington Post he arranged the meeting between the Russian lawyer and Donald Trump Jr. at the request of a client who has been identified as Emin Agalarov. But there are still plenty of questions about why the meeting was set up and what really happened there. Goldstone didn't respond to a request for comment. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.

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 pageant   

n.壮观的游行；露天历史剧

参考例句：

• Our pageant represented scenes from history.我们的露天历史剧上演一幕幕的历史事件。
• The inauguration ceremony of the new President was a splendid pageant.新主席的就职典礼的开始是极其壮观的。

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 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

6 daydreaming   

v.想入非非，空想( daydream的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Stop daydreaming and be realistic. 别空想了，还是从实际出发吧。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Bill was sitting and daydreaming so his mother told him to come down to earth and to do his homework. 比尔坐着空想， 他母亲要他面对现实，去做课外作业。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 contestants   

n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The competition attracted over 500 contestants representing 8 different countries. 这次比赛吸引了代表8个不同国家的500多名参赛者。
• 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。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》