紐時賞析／挺共和黨就是酷？川普讓共和黨旋風席捲全美年輕人

卡斯特羅帕雷德斯（右二）舉辦「MAGA青年」聚會。他們週三在會員制俱樂部「百夫長紐約」見面。（紐約時報）

These Days, It’s ‘Sexy’ to Be a Republican

對於年輕人 川普讓共和黨「變迷人」

Amid a surge of youthful Republicanism in New York and nationwide, there has been an element of social cachet that has often proved elusive: In blunt terms, the word is “cool.”

年輕共和黨旋風席捲紐約乃至全美之際，有種常被證實是難以捉摸的社會聲望元素：直白說，就是「酷」。

Indeed, hamstrung by political beliefs that are often in opposition to those of major cultural figures, conservatives have frequently groused about the depiction of them as squares, including President Donald Trump, whose hostile takeover of the Kennedy Center last week was seemingly led by a desire to make the venerable institution “hot.”

確實，由於政治信仰常常和重要文化人物對立而受到限制，保守派人士經常抱怨自己被形容成老古板，包括總統川普。他上週強勢接管甘迺迪中心，似乎是想讓這個久負盛名的機構「變得熱門」。

“We made the presidency hot,” Trump said, speaking to the newly formed board, according to an audio recording obtained by Jake Tapper of CNN. “So this should be easy.”

美國有線電視新聞網華府主播塔珀獲得的一段錄音顯示，川普對新成立的董事會說：「我們讓總統職務變得熱門。如法炮製應該很容易。」

It was in that spirit that a clutch of Trump’s younger supporters assembled Wednesday night at Centurion New York, a members-only club on the 55th floor of a building in midtown Manhattan, to celebrate the nascent Republican administration, and assert their fashionableness — and their fealty to the new president.

正因爲這種精神，一小羣年輕的川普支持者週三晚上聚集在曼哈頓中城一棟大樓55樓的會員制俱樂部「百夫長紐約」，爲新成立的共和黨政府慶祝，並展現他們的時尚品味—即對新總統的忠誠。

“POTUS is making it sexy to be Republican again,” said Max Castroparedes, 27, a self-described “international, globe-trotting consultant,” who was using the acronym for “president of the United States.” “He’s making it glamorous to be a Republican again. He’s making it great to be Republican again.”

27歲的卡斯特羅帕雷德斯自稱是周遊世界的國際顧問。他以美國總統英文單字字首縮寫"POTUS"簡稱美國總統，並說：「美國總統讓當共和黨人這件事再次變得迷人。他正再度讓當一個共和黨人這件事令人嚮往。他正讓再度讓當一個共和黨人這件事變得美妙。」

Castroparedes, a former special assistant at the Department of Homeland Security during Trump’s first term, now works for Montfort, a company based in Palm Beach, Florida, that calls itself “a specialized strategic advisory firm.” He had invited a dozen or so friends to assemble in a glass-walled room of Centurion, framed by sweeping views of the skyline, a soaring wall of wines and an imposing black chandelier.

卡斯特羅帕雷德斯在川普首個總統任期曾於國土安全部擔任特別助理，目前在總部位於佛州棕櫚灘的公司「蒙福特」任職。該公司自稱是「專業戰略顧問公司」。他邀請了十多名朋友聚在「百夫長」的一個玻璃牆房間。房間被廣闊的天際線景觀環繞，房內還有高聳的酒牆和宏偉的黑色枝形吊燈。

Men wore ties, women toted vintage Dior purses, and the playlist — said to be imported from Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s estate in Palm Beach — ran from classic rock (“Don’t Stop Believin’”) to classic Broadway (“Do You Hear the People Sing?” from “Les Miserables”) to something called “The Trump Song,” a salsa-style number with a chorus of “Oh my God, I will vote / I will vote, for Donald Trump.”

男士們繫着領帶，女士們攜帶經典迪奧手提包，房內播放據說源自川普位於棕櫚灘房產海湖莊園的音樂播放清單。歌曲包括經典搖滾歌曲「別停止相信」、來自百老匯音樂劇「悲慘世界」的經典歌曲「你可聽見人民在歌唱」，以及名爲「川普之歌」的歌曲。「川普之歌」是首騷莎風格的歌曲，部分歌詞是「喔，我的老天／我會投票，投給川普」。

Exclusively under the age of 30 the group also, of course, came to drink and meet people, including one attendee who quietly admitted to being a Kamala Harris voter.

當然，這羣人全是30歲以下，來此暢飲交友，一人低聲承認總統票投給賀錦麗。

文／Jesse McKinley　譯／羅方妤