美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump's Visit To Arizona Is A Headache For Trump GOP Critic, Sen. Jeff Flake

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And President Trump¹'s next speech will be at a rally for his supporters tonight in Phoenix², Ariz. Now, why Arizona? And why right now? Well, one reason may be Jeff Flake³. He is Arizona's junior U.S. senator, a Republican, but a vocal⁴ critic of the president. And many expect Trump to go after Flake directly. Here's more from reporter Jude Joffe-Block, a journalism⁵ fellow with New America and a veteran of covering Arizona politics.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Good evening. I'd like to call the Republican Party of Mesa LD-25 district meeting to order.

JUDE JOFFE-BLOCK: This meeting is for Republican Party activists⁶ in Mesa, a conservative suburb east of Phoenix. Arizona's junior senator, Jeff Flake, has a house here and used to represent the area in Congress. But many of the GOP grass-roots leaders in this room, like 75-year-old Gene⁷ Klund, aren't Flake fans.

GENE KLUND: Jeff Flake is a never-Trumper (ph). He's not representing, in my opinion, the people of Arizona. He's representing his own self-interest.

JOFFE-BLOCK: Flake is in his first term. And recent polls suggest he's one of the least popular senators in the country. In this room, it's Flake's moderate stance on immigration that makes him unpopular. Then there's his long-running feud⁸ with President Trump, who he refused to vote for. Even though Flake has actually voted for almost all of the bills Trump has supported and his administration's nominees⁹, Trump loyalists still say Flake is trying to thwart¹⁰ the president's agenda.

Flake recently released a book that's critical of his own party and the president, saying they've lost touch with conservative values and have, quote, "given in to the politics of anger." That hasn't won over party activists like Billie Bollwinkel.

BILLIE BOLLWINKEL: I think we need to drain the swamp. And I think Flake has added to the swamp, and I'm sorry to say that.

JOFFE-BLOCK: Trump has reportedly promised to give $10 million to unseat Flake in his primary. Last week, the president tweeted that Flake is, quote, "toxic¹¹, and weak on borders and crime." In the same tweet, he praised Flake's first official primary challenger, Dr. Kelli Ward¹².

CONSTANTIN QUERARD: It's pretty obvious that Flake's book has only made things much, much worse and even more personal for the president.

JOFFE-BLOCK: Constantin Querard is a conservative campaign strategist with the Arizona firm Grassroots Partners. While many political operatives here question if Ward is a strong enough candidate to win a general election, she is very pro-Trump and an immigration hawk¹³. Last year, she unsuccessfully tried to unseat Arizona's senior senator, John McCain, in his primary. Ward sounded giddy when speaking to the Phoenix talk radio station KFYI after Trump's tweet.

(SOUNDBITE OF RADIO SHOW, "THE MIKE BROOMHEAD SHOW")

KELLI WARD: I did notice he spelled my name right. And I, you know, I gave a little cheer for that, as well. I look forward to welcoming him to Arizona.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Thank you. Senator Flake...

(APPLAUSE)

JOFFE-BLOCK: On Monday morning, Flake was holding a breakfast with a local chamber¹⁴ of commerce in the Phoenix suburbs. Afterwards, reporters asked Flake if he thought it was appropriate for the president to endorse¹⁵ a candidate challenging a senator from his own party in the primary.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JEFF FLAKE: We're running my own campaign. It's going well. And, you know, what the president's - does, that's his prerogative¹⁶.

JOFFE-BLOCK: Republican strategist Constantin Querard points out that Trump easily won Arizona's presidential primary last year. He says speaking out and writing a book critical of the president is a risky¹⁷ bet.

QUERARD: And that has basically turned this Senate race into the question of, can you basically run against Trump and get re-elected as a Republican?

JOFFE-BLOCK: Flake supporters say it's unclear how influential¹⁸ Trump will be with voters a year from now and say Flake's criticism of the president could also wind up working in his favor. For NPR News, I'm Jude Joffe-Block in Phoenix.

(SOUNDBITE OF TRIFONIC'S "INFILTRATION")

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 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

3 flake   

v.使成薄片；雪片般落下；n.薄片

参考例句：

• Drain the salmon,discard the skin,crush the bones and flake the salmon with a fork.将鲑鱼沥干，去表皮，粉碎鱼骨并用餐叉子将鱼肉切成小薄片状。
• The paint's beginning to flake.油漆开始剥落了。

4 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

5 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

8 feud   

n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇

参考例句：

• How did he start his feud with his neighbor?他是怎样和邻居开始争吵起来的？
• The two tribes were long at feud with each other.这两个部族长期不和。

9 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

10 thwart   

v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的)

参考例句：

• We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。
• I don't think that will thwart our purposes.我认为那不会使我们的目的受到挫折。

11 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

12 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

13 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

14 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

15 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

16 prerogative   

n.特权

参考例句：

• It is within his prerogative to do so.他是有权这样做的。
• Making such decisions is not the sole prerogative of managers.作这类决定并不是管理者的专有特权。

17 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

18 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。