特朗普总统做事喜欢与众不同。至少在过圣诞节的问题上,他有五个很独特的地方。
"Merry Christmas," the president told reporters as he walked across the South Lawn.
总统特朗普走过白宫南草坪时,向记者们说,“圣诞快乐!”
It was a warm day at the White House with the scent of roses in the air and it hardly felt like Christmas.
那天的天气很暖,白宫的玫瑰散发着芬芳,让人丝毫没有圣诞的感觉。
Yet the holiday season was in full swing - a week earlier than many of his predecessors chose to begin.
但是白宫的圣诞季已经马力十足地开始了,比以往的许多总统们开始过圣诞的时间提前了一个星期。
Trump likes to do things differently, though. In that spirit, here are five ways that his Christmas is unique.
不过,特朗普总统做事喜欢与众不同,至少在过圣诞节的问题上,他有五个很独特的地方。
It started before Thanksgiving
1、从感恩节前就开始了
Traditionally the first family’s Christmas tree arrives on a horse-drawn wagon some time after Thanksgiving.
传统上,美国第一家庭的圣诞树通常是在感恩节之后,由马车拉到白宫。
For decades, this ceremony has marked the beginning of the Christmas holiday season in Washington.
几十年来,这一仪式标志着白宫圣诞假期的开始。
This year the tree arrived early - three days before Thanksgiving - apparently because of the president’s travel plans. On the following day, he left for his private club, Mar-a-Lago, in Florida.
2017年,白宫的圣诞树来得早了些——在感恩节三周前,显然是因为特朗普总统有旅行计划。圣诞树运来后的第二天,他就离开白宫去了自己在佛罗里达的私人庄园——海湖庄园。
Moving up the date of the tree-arrival ceremony and the president’s decision to leave the White House that week were important markers, said St Joseph’s University’s Katherine AS Sibley.
约瑟夫大学的凯瑟琳·AS·西伯利说,将圣诞树运抵日期提前,总统在那个星期离开白宫都是重要的标志。
She says it shows that he and his family have not made the White House a focal point in the way that other first families, such as the Obamas, the Bushes and the Kennedys, did.
她说,这显示特朗普和他的家人并没有像奥巴马、布什和肯尼迪等其他第一家庭一样,将白宫视为自己的生活重点。
"It just seems more like an adjunct to their lives instead of a central place," Sibley explained.
西伯利解释说:“白宫似乎只是他们生活的一个附着物,而不是一个中心地方。”
No more ’Happy Holidays’
2、不再“节日快乐”
During the presidential campaign, Trump would tell his supporters that people would soon be saying "Merry Christmas" again, instead of "happy holidays".
在竞选期间,特朗普曾经向支持者表示,人们很快将可以再次道声“圣诞快乐”,而不是“节日快乐”。
And in October he told supporters he had delivered on that pledge. "We’re saying Merry Christmas again," he said.
10月,他告诉支持者们说,他已经兑现了承诺:“我们又要说圣诞快乐了。”
For his supporters, it’s a symbol of defiance against the guardians of acceptable language.
在他的支持者们看来,这是公开对抗那些所谓恰当语言的捍卫者。
But his critics says it’s meaningless. President Obama often said it in his seasonal address, they point out.
不过,批评人士说,这么做没有意义。他们特别提到奥巴马,他在圣诞讲话中经常说圣诞快乐。
Other presidents said it but they didn’t make a big deal about it, says New York University’s Timothy Naftali, a presidential biographer.
纽约大学的总统传记作家提摩西.纳夫塔利说,其他总统也说圣诞快乐,但他们没有把它当成什么大事。
"He [Trump] will pretend he is the first president to celebrate Christmas," said Naftali.
纳夫塔利说:“他(特朗普)搞得跟自己是第一个庆祝圣诞的总统似的。”
A special present for the people
3、送给人民的特别礼物
It’s not the kind of gift you’ll find under the tree.
这不是那种放在圣诞树下的礼物。
Tax cuts don’t come covered in wrapping paper.
减税不会包在礼物盒里送来。
The president has described his proposed tax cuts as "a great, big, beautiful Christmas present" for Americans.
但特朗普说,他提议的减税计划是送给美国人民的“一份又厚重又漂亮的圣诞礼物”。
And the plan has taken a big step towards becoming a reality with the Senate passing its bill.
如果美国参议院通过这一法案,他的减税计划将在成为现实的路上大大前进一步。
No pet photos
4、没有宠物照
He’s the first president in more than a century without a pet - so no cute pictures of a first dog, marking another departure from tradition.
特朗普是美国一个多世纪以来第一位没有宠物的总统,所以今年不会有“第一狗”的可爱照片。这也是又一个打破传统的地方。
Bo and Sunny, the Portuguese water dogs, featured in several Obama Christmas photo-opportunities.
“波”和“桑尼”,这两只葡萄牙水犬,曾经多次在奥巴马的圣诞照片中出现过。
In the George W Bush White House, Barney, a Scottish terrier, once inspected presents under the tree.
在乔治·布什任总统期间,苏格兰牧羊犬“巴尼”,也曾被拍到在圣诞树下看礼物。
Socks, the Clintons’ cat, wore a Santa hat.
还有,克林顿总统的猫——“袜子”,戴着圣诞老人的帽子露过面。
Bah, humbug’ for the media
5、呃!媒体
Under previous administrations, the president held a press conference in the briefing room in December. Trump’s not likely to do that.
以前,总统通常会在12月在会议室里举行记者招待会。特朗普好像不大可能这么做。
One administration aide told me that she thinks it’s beneath him to appear in the briefing room. Instead the president talks to reporters on the south lawn, in the Oval Office or on Air Force One, places where he seems to feel comfortable.
一位白宫助理说,特朗普不喜欢在会议室里露面。他会在南草坪或者椭圆办公室或者空军一号专机上见记者,这些地方似乎让他更自在。
Besides that, he’s invited a smaller number of reporters to the White House to celebrate the holidays.
另外,特朗普已经邀请了一些记者到白宫庆祝圣诞佳节。
The party invitations have gone out, but a CNN spokesperson said they weren’t going to attend because of "the president’s continued attacks on freedom of the press and CNN".
庆祝晚会的请柬已经送出了,但是美国有线电视新闻网(CNN)的发言人说,他们不会有记者去参加,因为“总统持续攻击媒体自由和CNN”。
That suits people who work for the president just fine.
这让特朗普总统身边的人觉得正好。
Upon hearing the news, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, wrote: "Christmas comes early! Finally, good news from @CNN".
白宫新闻发言人桑德斯听到CNN不来参加圣诞晚会的消息时,这样写道:“圣诞节来得早啊!@CNN终于传来好消息了!”