美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Concerned' Evangelicals Plan To Meet With Trump As Sex Scandals Swirl

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

White evangelicals helped fuel Donald Trump¹'s run to the White House, but now there are increasing concerns among some evangelical leaders about sex scandal allegations swirling² around the president. They are worried that they could cause conservative Christian³ voters to stay home in an election year. NPR's Sarah McCammon reports that some of these leaders are organizing a meeting with the president in an effort to stem a potential Democratic wave, and Sarah is with us. Hi there, Sarah.

SARAH MCCAMMON, BYLINE⁴: Good morning, David.

GREENE: So I know you've been breaking the news of this meeting here. What exactly is being planned?

MCCAMMON: Well, white evangelical leaders may not love everything about President Trump's personality or personal life, but they do like what he's doing in terms of public policy. And they don't want to see that eroded⁵ in the 2018 midterms. So they want to get together with him and - they're hoping - hundreds of other pastors⁶ and other influential⁷ evangelical leaders to strategize about this fall and sort of drum up, you know, voter enthusiasm. They see how organized and energized⁸ Democrats⁹ are - the victories Democrats have had in elections so far in places like Virginia and Alabama and Pennsylvania. And a lot of that energy has been focused on resisting President Trump's agenda.

Now, this is all happening at a time, of course, when the president faces a fresh slate¹⁰ of sex scandal allegations from women including porn star Stormy Daniels, who says she was paid $130,000 to stay quiet about an alleged¹¹ affair with Trump, which of course he denies.

GREENE: Right.

MCCAMMON: And just yesterday, the president told reporters he didn't know about the $130,000 payment from his lawyer Michael Cohen to Daniels just before the November election in 2016. But all that together has some evangelical leaders worried their voters won't turn out in November in the numbers needed to offset¹² what looks like a Democratic wave.

GREENE: And so what are the plans for this meeting? Where's it going to happen and when?

MCCAMMON: Well, it's going to be - the plan is at Trump International Hotel on June 19. And I'm told it will be focused on voting as a Christian's civic¹³ duty - not necessarily a partisan¹⁴ event, I'm told. But remember that white evangelical voters in particular are a key constituency for the Republican Party. More than 80 percent supported President Trump in 2016. And I should say the White House, so far, is declining to comment. But organizers say the plan is to invite hundreds of leaders from across the country to sit down with the president at his hotel in Washington, D.C., for at least an hour.

GREENE: Oh, this is interesting. It sounds like this is more of a political strategy session, talking about making sure that, you know, Republicans actually turnout. It doesn't sound so much like these are leaders who want to, you know, bluntly confront the president over some of these allegations.

MCCAMMON: Right. They tell me that it's not clear whether or not the Stormy Daniels scandal, for instance, will come up on stage. But one source told me it's likely to come up in smaller sidebar conversations with the president. Another source said there's been, you know, some concern among some of the planners that having Trump there could be a liability - that some evangelical leaders might stay away.

But the reality is a lot of evangelical leaders say he's still very popular, again, in the issues they care about - things like abortion¹⁵, religious liberty, moving the capital of Israel to Jerusalem. Many white evangelicals are very, very happy. And they want to preserve those gains they've seen over the past couple of years. So the big focus will be on strategy, on talking, perhaps, about issues to focus on. And, of course, the president can draw a crowd.

GREENE: Is there an ethical¹⁶ concern that this is happening potentially at Donald Trump's own hotel - like, if it's going to be a session that's a lot about politics and so forth¹⁷?

MCCAMMON: Interestingly, none of the evangelical leaders I've spoken to seemed worried about it. One said, you know, that isn't on the planners' minds - that this is what was described as the best deal in town. But, of course, watchdogs in Washington, D.C., might think differently.

GREENE: NPR's Sarah McCammon breaking news this morning about a meeting that evangelical leaders are planning with the president in June. Sarah, thanks a lot for your reporting.

MCCAMMON: Thank you.

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 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

3 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。

4 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。

5 eroded   

adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. 峭壁表面逐渐被海水侵蚀。
• The stream eroded a channel in the solid rock. 小溪在硬石中侵蚀成一条水道。

6 pastors   

n.（基督教的）牧师( pastor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Do we show respect to our pastors, missionaries, Sunday school teachers? 我们有没有尊敬牧师、宣教士，以及主日学的老师？ 来自互联网
• Should pastors or elders be paid, or serve as a volunteer? 牧师或长老需要付给酬劳，还是志愿的事奉呢？ 来自互联网

7 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

8 energized   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意，爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
• I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力，感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句

9 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》

10 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

11 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

12 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

13 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

14 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。

15 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

16 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

17 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。