疫情甩锅中国，股市一键清仓！《纽约时报》：别让特朗普跑了！
轻描淡写、煽动群众、罪魁祸首
用英语怎么说？
近日，《纽约时报》发表了一篇题为《别让特朗普跑了》（Don’t Let Trump Off the Hook）的评论文章，一针见血，不留情面地揭露了特朗普和共和党的真面目。
文章作者Jamelle Bouie开门见山地指出，两个月前，特朗普对中国的抗疫工作大加赞扬，并表示疫情可防可控；两个月后的今天，面对美国疫情失控，特朗普甩锅中国，并故意使用“中国病毒”的说法，转移目标，煽动民众。
作者继续指出，共和党议员在听取关于疫情的非公开通报后，开始清仓，随后买入远程办公概念股。
巴菲特感叹活久见，全球最大对冲基金创始人达利欧“被爆仓”，而议员们表现如此惊艳，估计让狱中的徐翔都叹为观止。
在文章最后，作者指出小布什花了八年才搞垮经济，特朗普只用了不到四年。作者呼吁，必须让民众知道共和党的真相。
01
两个月前：中国做得好！病毒完全可控！
Donald Trump and the Republican Party are trying to distract（转移注意力） you from their catastrophic （灾难性的） failure.
Two months ago, as the world knows, Trump was praising China’s government for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, while downplaying（轻描淡写） the severity（严重性） of the threat to the United States.
△ downplay表示不重视，对某事轻描淡写，降低其重要性。
“We have it totally under control （完全可控）,” he said in an interview to CNBC on Jan. 22. “It’s one person coming in from China and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.”
For good measure （此外）, he said it again on Twitter: “China has been working very hard to contain（遏制） the Coronavirus.
△ for good measure是固定搭配，表示除此以外，另外。
The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out （顺利） well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!”
△ work out表示进展顺利，结果令人满意。这个地道的短语看似简单，但在讲英语或中译英时，不太容易想到。
02
两个月后：乱了手脚，甩锅中国！
After weeks of saying “coronavirus,” he now calls it the “Chinese virus.” The administration says it’s simply holding Beijing responsible for spreading the disease. But given the president’s previous praise for China’s response, that explanation doesn’t hold up（站不住脚）.
△ hold up表示经得起推敲，站得住脚。
The likely truth is that Trump is flailing（挣扎）. His change in language came shortly after the stock market collapsed and the president faced harsh（严厉） criticism for his sluggish（迟缓） response to the outbreak.
△ flail表示乱动，胡乱地挥动手或脚，即没有了章法，不知如何是好。
Rather than face his failures — the United States is far behind its peers in testing, and its hospitals are largely unprepared for a surge（激增） of the severely ill — Trump turned to racial demagoguery （煽动群众）.
04
股市要凉，领导先走！
In January, just over two weeks after she was sworn in （宣誓就职）, Senator Kelly Loeffler of Georgia was part of a private briefing（通报会） on the coronavirus provided by administration officials.
That same day, according to The Daily Beast, she and her husband began to sell millions in stock, a process that continued over the next few weeks.
They also made a purchase: between $100,000 and $250,000 worth of shares in a company that specializes in technology that helps people work remotely（远程工作）.
In February, Richard Burr, the Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, co-wrote an op-ed（专栏） in which he assured the public that “the United States today is better prepared than ever before to face emerging public health threats, like the coronavirus.”
A few days later, however, he sold somewhere between $628,000 and $1.7 million in stock, according to ProPublica.
05
搞垮经济，只需四年！
It took George W. Bush most of his two terms to bring the country to the brink （边缘） of economic collapse（崩溃）— Trump has done it in less than four years.
The public needs to know that the Republican Party is culpable（罪魁祸首） for the present crisis.
△ culpable表示有罪的，难辞其咎的，名词是culprit，表示罪魁祸首，问题的根源。
It needs to know that in the face of a deadly pandemic, some Republican lawmakers appear to have looked to （打算） profit rather than to prepare.
It needs to understand that the deadly incompetence of Republican governance is a feature, not a bug.
△ It's not a bug. It's a feature. 这是来自IT行业开玩笑的说法。bug表示故障、错误，feature表示特色、特征。如果程序员反复努力，也无法消除bug时，干脆放弃努力，把bug说成是软件本来的功能或特征，即feature。作者在此讽刺共和党政府。
节选自《纽约时报》
图片来源于网络
off the hook 逃脱，脱身
downplay 轻描淡写
for good measure 此外
work out 进展顺利
hold up 站得住脚
flail 手脚乱动，挣扎
sluggish 迟缓
demagoguery 煽动群众
brink 边缘
culprit 罪魁祸首
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