美国国家公共电台 NPR--Indictment could be a double-edged sword for Trump's 2024 presidential campaign

Indictment² could be a double-edged sword for Trump³'s 2024 presidential campaign

Transcript⁴

NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer speaks with Republican strategist Scott Jennings about how the grand jury decision to indict¹ former President Donald Trump will affect his presidential campaign.

SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:

For the first time, a former president faces criminal charges. Donald Trump has been indicted⁵ by a New York grand jury. We don't know what the former president is being charged with, but the grand jury has been looking into payments made in 2016 to Trump's former attorney. The money was used to pay adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged⁶ sexual encounter with Trump. And the alleged crime involves how Trump logged the reimbursement⁷ as a business expense for legal services. So how will this indictment affect Trump's 2024 campaign? We turn now to Republican strategist Scott Jennings. Scott, good morning.

SCOTT JENNINGS: Hey, good morning.

PFEIFFER: Before I have you give us what you consider the political lay of the land, I'm interested in your personal reaction when you heard that this indictment had actually been handed down, even though we knew it might be coming. What did you think when you heard?

JENNINGS: Well, it's a sad day for America. I mean, I don't think most Americans want to think of their presidents or former presidents as people who would face an indictment. Even if you think it's politically motivated, you don't like the idea that a president's carrying an indictment. And the underlying⁹ behavior, of course, of the president here, the alleged behavior, I should say, is nothing you want to talk to your kids about either. So I think it's a sad day.

PFEIFFER: I know that Republicans are not a monolith. No voters are monolithic¹⁰. But in generally speaking, do you consider this more a plus or more a minus for Trump's popularity among people who support him?

JENNINGS: Well, I was looking at a survey this week from Quinnipiac. They took a pretty large survey. And among Republicans, they were asked, do you think this is motivated by politics or motivated by the law? And 93% of Republicans thought it was motivated by politics. So that's pretty close to a monolith. Now, overall, the American people thought 62% said it was motivated by politics and 70% of independents thought that. Even 30% of Democrats¹³ thought that. So it's a strange situation because Trump is not usually on the right side of public opinion. He's more of a plurality type of politician. But in this case, most of the American people, at least according to this survey today, before we've seen the indictment, before we've seen the facts, seem to agree with him that this is a politically motivated indictment.

PFEIFFER: And knowing that prosecutors¹⁵ would realize that would be a reaction, did it surprise you that they decided¹⁶ to do this anyway?

JENNINGS: I'm not surprised because of the political dynamics¹⁷ in New York City. I don't know - you know, we haven't seen the evidence, and I don't know what all the charges are going to be yet. No one does. But no, I'm not personally surprised. I don't think Republicans are personally - most would say I'm not personally surprised by this because they think people like the prosecutor¹⁴, Bragg, and other Democrats have been trying to get Trump for years. That would be their viewpoint. It doesn't necessarily make any legal difference, you know, when he takes it to a jury. But that's how they would feel.

PFEIFFER: Interesting because by doing it, they may have helped Trump and - even in wanting to make Trump be held accountable, as they would describe it.

JENNINGS: No question about that. I mean, when you look at the position that Trump's opponents are now in, you've got Ron DeSantis and everybody else who are running against him or thinking of it out here defending him. And so at least in the short term, it could be of some benefit. Now, this is one case. He's facing problems in Georgia. He's got the January 6 investigation¹⁸, the Mar-a-Lago documents. I view this over the long term and I view these investigations¹⁹ like a sack, and you're putting rocks in a sack. This may ultimately be one of the smaller rocks. Maybe it's just a pebble²⁰. But if you were to add it to, say, other indictments²¹ for more serious issues where the evidence is more important and more stark²² and the issues are more consequential²³ to American public affairs, maybe it's overall not a good thing to be indicted. I mean, I've done some political campaigns in my life, and I wouldn't recommend it (laughter) if you're trying to run for office. But in the grand scheme of things and all the issues he's facing, this one seems like the least consequential to me and, frankly²⁴, to most people.

PFEIFFER: You mentioned his opponents, and I want to ask you about that because we've already heard from Mike Pence, the former vice⁸ president, of course. He told CNN the indictment is an outrage²⁵. Here's part of what he said.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MIKE PENCE: I really do believe that this decision today is a great disservice to the country, the idea that for the first time in American history, a former president would be indicted on a campaign finance issue. To me, it just smacks²⁶ of political prosecution²⁷.

PFEIFFER: And, Scott, then another political rival for the GOP nomination²⁸, the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, he also spoke²⁹ out against the prosecutor bringing charges. They could have used this to their advantage. They could have used it to really condemn³⁰ Trump. Why do you think these challengers have decided basically to speak in support of Trump?

JENNINGS: Well, two things. No. 1, they can read a poll, and they see that, you know, over 90% of Republicans think it's a political prosecution. Even people who don't want to vote for Trump again or don't want him to be the nominee³¹ don't like this prosecution. They think it's all about politics. So at some point, being a Republican these days is about at least showing or channeling the emotional state of the Republican Party. And the emotional state of the party right now over this issue is that this is all politics, and we don't like it. And so there's really nothing to be gained among Republican primary voters by coming out and saying, well, I think Alvin Bragg's a smart guy and we ought to look into that. So they don't really have a choice. They're in a bit of a box here.

PFEIFFER: This does bring quite a bit of attention to Trump. He's a man who likes attention. He might find this beneficial. I'm wondering what kind of political advice you would give him if you were advising him as he's running now.

JENNINGS: Well, yeah, he's a ringmaster. And here's the first attempt that he'll have in this primary to paint this as like a liptic (ph) bright line. It's us versus³² them. And so if you're in his shoes, you're saying to Republicans, like, look, look at what they're doing to me. They're not going to stop. And, you know, siding with any opponent of mine, whether they're Republican or Democrat¹², is akin¹¹ to siding with the people who are weaponizing our justice system against the Republican Party. So I think in the short run, he's going to paint this as a pure us versus them. And you can't be on multiple sides. You can't have it any other way except you got to pick me or you got to pick the partisan³³ Democrats. And I think that's where you'll see him go, at least in the short run, on this particular indictment.

PFEIFFER: That's Republican strategist Scott Jennings. Thank you.

JENNINGS: Thank you.

1 indict   

v.起诉，控告，指控

参考例句：

• You can't indict whole people for the crudeness of a few.您不能因少数人的粗暴行为就控诉整个民族。
• I can indict you for abducting high school student.我可以告你诱拐中学生。

2 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

3 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。

4 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

5 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

6 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

7 reimbursement   

n.偿还，退还

参考例句：

• He received reimbursement for his travel expenses.由于出差的花费他可以得到公司的补偿。
• Which forms do I need to complete for my travel reimbursement?我需要填什么表来报我的旅费？

8 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

9 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

10 monolithic   

adj.似独块巨石的；整体的

参考例句：

• Don't think this gang is monolithic.不要以为这帮人是铁板一块。
• Mathematics is not a single monolithic structure of absolute truth.数学并不是绝对真理的单一整体结构。

11 akin   

adj.同族的，类似的

参考例句：

• She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。
• Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。

12 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

13 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

15 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

16 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。

17 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

18 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

19 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

20 pebble   

n.卵石，小圆石

参考例句：

• The bird mistook the pebble for egg and tried to hatch it.这只鸟错把卵石当蛋，想去孵它。
• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。

21 indictments   

n.（制度、社会等的）衰败迹象( indictment的名词复数 )；刑事起诉书；公诉书；控告

参考例句：

• A New York jury brought criminal indictments against the founder of the organization. 纽约的一个陪审团对这个组织的创始人提起了多项刑事诉讼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These two indictments are self-evident and require no elaboration. 这两条意义自明，无须多说。 来自互联网

22 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

23 consequential   

adj.作为结果的，间接的；重要的

参考例句：

• She was injured and suffered a consequential loss of earnings.她受了伤因而收入受损。
• This new transformation is at least as consequential as that one was.这一新的转变至少和那次一样重要。

24 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

25 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

26 smacks   

掌掴（声）( smack的名词复数 )； 海洛因； （打的）一拳； 打巴掌

参考例句：

• His politeness smacks of condescension. 他的客气带有屈尊俯就的意味。
• It was a fishing town, and the sea was dotted with smacks. 这是个渔业城镇，海面上可看到渔帆点点。

27 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

28 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

29 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

30 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

31 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

32 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

33 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。