The political style of Donald Trump is so sloppy(粗率的，马虎的) and coarse(粗俗的，粗糙的) that he rarely gets the credit he deserves for cunning(精明，狡黠) and even subtlety(微妙，细腻). Take his handling of Ken Paxton, the attorney-general of Texas, whose cartoonish defects as a candidate have made his race for Senate there one of this year’s most competitive contests. Mr Trump has developed a comic routine at Mr Paxton’s expense(以帕克斯顿为代价（开涮）), or seeming expense. The president so relishes this act that, on the second night of his midterm convention in Dallas this month, he quoted his own delivery from the previous night, after confiding that his aides had implored him not to.(总统如此钟爱这段表演，以至于本月在达拉斯中期选举大会第二晚，他透露助手们曾恳求他别这么做之后，还是把前一晚的段子又搬了出来。)
唐纳德·特朗普的政治风格粗率无章，以至于人们很少称赞他精明，更不用说细腻了。且看他如何对待得克萨斯州总检察长肯·帕克斯顿——帕克斯顿作为候选人，其种种缺陷夸张得像漫画人物，这让他竞选得州参议员一役成为今年竞争最激烈的选战之一。特朗普拿帕克斯顿开涮，编排了一套滑稽段子——至少表面上是开涮。总统对这段表演如此钟爱，以至于本月在达拉斯举行的中期选举大会第二晚，他明知助手们恳求他不要这么做，还是把前一晚的段子又搬了出来。
“I said, ‘I don’t like the way Ken dresses’,” Mr Trump recalled, as the crowd convulse(（因笑）剧烈震动)d with laughter to hear the same schtick(（喜剧）段子，套路) again. “And then I said, ‘I don’t really like the way Ken talks’.” From somewhere in the hall, Mr Paxton appeared on giant video screens, smiling nervously, shifting from foot to foot(双脚不停地挪动（紧张不安）). “And then I said something they really hated,” Mr Trump went on, referring to his aides. “I said, ‘I don’t really like the way he looks’.” The president worried he was being so mean Mr Paxton might never speak to him again.(总统担心自己话说得太刻薄，帕克斯顿可能再也不理他了。) But it was all right, he said, because Mr Paxton was the best attorney-general in the history of Texas, and as a senator he would vote “the way we would vote”.
“我说，‘我不喜欢肯的穿着’，”特朗普回忆道，台下人群听到同一个段子再次爆发出阵阵大笑。“然后我说，‘我不太喜欢肯说话的方式’。”大厅某处，帕克斯顿出现在巨大的视频屏幕上，紧张地笑着，双脚不停地挪动。“然后我说了些他们特别不爱听的话，”特朗普继续道，指的是他的助手们。“我说，‘我不太喜欢他的长相’。”总统担心自己话说得太刻薄，帕克斯顿可能再也不理他了。但他说，没关系，因为帕克斯顿是得州历史上最好的总检察长，而且作为参议员，他会“按我们的方式投票”。
To conclude, as many commentators have, that Mr Trump was just trashing Mr Paxton is still to underestimate the first president to get re-elected after being convicted of felonies.(如果像许多评论员那样断定特朗普只是在贬损帕克斯顿，那仍然低估了这位史上首位被定罪后仍成功连任的总统。) Sure, he was demean(贬低，羞辱)ing a lackey(跟班，走狗). But he was also hammering home a message, trying to rescue Mr Paxton by creating what politicos like to call a permission structure(许可结构（为支持者提供心理许可）): <i>You may not think much of him as a person. I get it. It’s <small>OK</small>. What matters is that he will deliver for you.</i>
如果像许多评论员那样断定特朗普只是在贬损帕克斯顿，那仍然低估了这位史上首位被定罪后仍成功连任的总统。没错，他是在羞辱一个跟班。但他同时也在反复强调一个信息，试图通过制造政客们所谓的“许可结构”来挽救帕克斯顿：<i>你可能觉得他这个人不怎么样。我懂。没关系。重要的是他会为你办事。</i>
The portents of being earnest
诚恳的预兆