美国国家公共电台 NPR Poll: Trump Needs To Choose Between Presidency And His Business

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: 

Some world leaders have multiple titles. Britain's Queen Elizabeth, for example, is Elizabeth II but also Head of the Commonwealth¹ and Defender² of the Faith. Donald Trump³, too, will have multiple titles.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: 

He will soon be president of the United States. And he will also be Donald Trump, executive producer of "The Apprentice⁴." He will keep that credit and the financial stake that comes with it.

INSKEEP: The president-elect has said that next week he will reveal what steps he's going to take to separate his presidency⁵ from his business operations in multiple countries. It's not clear how far he's going to go. But we do know that an overwhelming majority of voters say they want a clear line between his presidency and his financial interests. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE⁶: Donald Trump was elected as a businessman, someone whose commercial savvy⁷ could help the economy grow more quickly.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DONALD TRUMP: I'm really rich. I'll show you that in a second.

(LAUGHTER, CHEERING)

TRUMP: And, by the way, I'm not even saying that in a brag⁸ - that's the kind of mindset - that's the kind of thinking you need for this country.

ZARROLI: Trump supporters, such as Andrew Favro (ph), a firefighter in the upstate New York town of Plattsburgh, say his business experience is one of the things they like about Trump.

ANDREW FAVRO: I'm glad that he is a business person and not just someone who's just a politician.

ZARROLI: But now that Trump has been elected, a lot of people want him to switch gears. Two-thirds of those answering a recent Bloomberg survey say Trump needs to choose between being a businessman and being president. They're people such as Christian⁹ Duval-Phelps, who's unemployed¹⁰ and says he supported Bernie Sanders.

CHRISTIAN DUVAL-PHELPS: He's running the country. That should be his first, second, third and fourth priority.

ZARROLI: People are less clear about what Trump should do with those businesses. Former government ethics¹¹ officials say the cleanest way for Trump to address the conflicts of interests would be to sell off his huge network of companies and put the proceeds in neutral assets such as treasury¹² bills. But pollster Ann Selzer, who did the Bloomberg survey, says 69 percent of those who answered think forcing Trump to sell all of his assets goes too far.

ANN SELZER: They want him to be the president. And they want that to be a full-time¹³ job. In order to do that, does he need to completely sell off everything? Well, that feels a bit much.

ZARROLI: At the same time, Selzer says, nearly half of the respondents are skeptical¹⁴ that Trump will put the country's interests ahead of his own when he meets with foreign leaders. And that suggests this could be a big issue for him down the road.

LARRY JACOBS: There's no doubt in my mind that this is treacherous¹⁵ territory for Donald Trump.

ZARROLI: Larry Jacobs, professor of political science at the University of Minnesota, says so far, at least, Americans may not be paying a lot of attention to the issues raised by Trump's businesses.

JACOBS: Americans care about corruption¹⁶ and a conflict of interest when they see it. As an abstract matter, it doesn't usually rise to the top of their agenda. They've got so many other things they're thinking about.

ZARROLI: But, he says, if people start to hear more stories about, say, Trump's children sitting in on meetings with foreign leaders or Trump's hotels being used for government functions, the issue could quickly gain more traction¹⁷.

JACOBS: Well, Americans, I think, are giving him the benefit of the doubt at this moment, before he's inaugurated. Once he's sworn in and he's in the White House, I think there's going to be more scrutiny¹⁸.

ZARROLI: During the campaign, Trump said he would turn over his businesses to three of his grown children. But critics say that wouldn't solve the problem because Trump would still own the company. More recently, Trump said he would take steps to separate himself from his business operations.

He will announce details at a major press conference on December 15. The challenge for Trump is to convince Americans he can put the issue behind him before it becomes a liability. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.

1 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

2 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

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 apprentice   

n.学徒，徒弟

参考例句：

• My son is an apprentice in a furniture maker's workshop.我的儿子在一家家具厂做学徒。
• The apprentice is not yet out of his time.这徒工还没有出徒。

5 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。

6 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。

7 savvy   

v.知道，了解；n.理解能力，机智，悟性；adj.有见识的，懂实际知识的，通情达理的

参考例句：

• She was a pretty savvy woman.她是个见过世面的漂亮女人。
• Where's your savvy?你的常识到哪里去了？

8 brag   

v./n.吹牛，自夸；adj.第一流的

参考例句：

• He made brag of his skill.他夸耀自己技术高明。
• His wealth is his brag.他夸张他的财富。

9 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

10 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

11 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。

12 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

13 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

14 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

15 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

16 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

17 traction   

n.牵引；附着摩擦力

参考例句：

• I'll show you how the traction is applied.我会让你看如何做这种牵引。
• She's injured her back and is in traction for a month.她背部受伤，正在作一个月的牵引治疗。

18 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。