Is Donald Trump to be taken literally or seriously? Salena Zito offered these alternatives in a column in The Atlantic published in September 2016. Today, before he obtains power for a second time, Trump must be taken more seriously and more literally than last time. The evidence comes from his nominations, notably Robert F Kennedy Jr at health, Pete Hegseth at defence, Tulsi Gabbard at national intelligence and Matt Gaetz at justice. These people show that Trump will be far more radical. Moreover, trade policy has long been the area where he is to be taken both seriously and literally; protectionism is not just a long-standing personal belief, but one that he was already dedicated to last time.
要從字面意思來理解唐納•川普(Donald Trump)的話，還是把他的話當真？薩萊納•齊託(Salena Zito)在2016年9月刊登在《大西洋月刊》(The Atlantic)上的一篇專欄文章中提出了這兩個選項。今天，在川普第二次掌權之前，比起上次，人們對他的話更要字斟句酌，也更要把他的話當回事。他提名的那些人就是證據，尤其是衛生部長人選小羅伯特•F•甘迺迪(Robert F Kennedy Jr)、國防部長人選彼特•海格塞思(Pete Hegseth)、國家情報總監人選圖爾西•加巴德(Tulsi Gabbard)以及司法部長人選馬特•蓋茲(Matt Gaetz)。這些人選表明，川普將遠比上次更加激進。此外，一直以來，對於他在貿易政策方面的言論既應該認真對待，也要從字面意思來理解；保護主義不僅是他長期奉行的個人信念，而且他上次已經爲之付出努力。