美国国家公共电台 NPR On The Record: President Trump Vs. Private Citizen Trump On Syria

 

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

And for more on the Trump¹ administration's reaction to the chemical weapons attack in Syria, we're joined now by NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith. Hi, Tam.

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE²: Hi.

SIEGEL: What has President Trump actually said about this?

KEITH: Well, earlier today, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, as we just heard, described the attack as heinous³. He was actually reading a statement from President Trump that was later released in text form. And I want you to just hear a little bit more of Spicer reading from that statement.

(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)

SEAN SPICER: (Reading) These heinous actions by the Bashar al-Assad regime are a consequence of the past administration's weakness and irresolution⁴. President Obama said in 2012 that he would establish a, quote, unquote, "red line" against the use of chemical weapons and then did nothing.

KEITH: The statement blames President Obama, but it doesn't actually say how Trump plans to respond to this attack or what his administration's posture⁵ is toward Assad.

SIEGEL: Well, apart from the statement, is there any indication of where the Trump administration is headed on this or what the plan is?

KEITH: Well, so one thing to know about President Trump - and this goes back well before he was the president, even before he was a candidate - is that he doesn't like politicians, political leaders telegraphing where they might be going on military matters.

So as a candidate, he said that he had a plan for defeating ISIS, but he wouldn't say what it was because he didn't want to tip them off. His critics said then and now that Trump didn't have a plan for ISIS and that he doesn't have one for dealing⁶ with Assad on Syria - in Syria.

What Press Secretary Sean Spicer says is that the president's statement speaks for itself and that he is meeting with his national security team. He's alarmed about what's happening and that there will be further discussions with allies about the appropriate next action. But he simply said he was not ready to talk about next steps, but they will, quote, "get there soon."

SIEGEL: Tam, before this latest development, there were mixed messages coming from top Trump administration officials about Assad, and I'm thinking of the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, who described the Syrian leader as a war criminal. What is the administration's position?

KEITH: Yeah, there's been something of a back and forth⁷ on this recently. First Haley said that the U.S. priority was no longer to sit there and focus on getting Assad out. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson essentially⁸ said the same thing, that the Syrian people themselves should decide what happens with Assad.

But then - you're right - Nikki Haley on Monday said the administration has no love for Assad. She called him a war criminal and a hindrance⁹ to peace. Spicer says the administration's view is consistent, that there is not an option of regime change as there has been in the past.

SIEGEL: I want to go back to the president's statement criticizing President Obama and the red line that Obama drew in 2012 with regard to chemical weapons. Donald Trump has left a long Twitter trail in his wake, and Twitter presents a window into the mind of the private citizen Donald Trump. I gather you've been looking back at what he was saying then. What did you find?

KEITH: Yeah, so there are a lot of tweets about this, none from 2012 when President Obama first used the term red line. But then later in 2013 when the U.S. was thinking about a military strike in Syria to send a message about chemical weapons, Trump tweeted, quote, "President Obama, do not attack Syria; there is no upside and tremendous downside. Save your powder for another and more important day."

He around the same time also tweeted, President Obama put himself in a very bad position when he talked about Syria crossing a red line; amazingly, now he denies that. So Trump all along has been very focused on President Obama's response and at times said that he looked weak.

SIEGEL: That's NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith. Tam, thanks.

KEITH: You're welcome.

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 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。

3 heinous   

adj.可憎的，十恶不赦的

参考例句：

• They admitted to the most heinous crimes.他们承认了极其恶劣的罪行。
• I do not want to meet that heinous person.我不想见那个十恶不赦的人。

4 irresolution   

n.不决断，优柔寡断，犹豫不定

参考例句：

• A lack of certainty that often leads to irresolution. 疑惑缺少肯定而导致犹豫不决。 来自互联网
• Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? 我们迟疑不决、无所作为就能积聚力量吗？ 来自互联网

5 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

8 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

9 hindrance   

n.妨碍，障碍

参考例句：

• Now they can construct tunnel systems without hindrance.现在他们可以顺利地建造隧道系统了。
• The heavy baggage was a great hindrance to me.那件行李成了我的大累赘。