川普、歐巴馬在期中選舉最後階段端出「食物大戰」

史蒂夫・霍蘭德By Steve Holland

華盛頓，10月30日（路透）——美國前總統巴拉克・歐巴馬與總統唐納・川普在期中選舉最後階段掀起一場「食物大戰」，兩人圍繞起司蛋糕工廠（Cheesecake Factory）互相挖苦，而選民即將決定國會控制權歸屬。WASHINGTON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Former President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump are having a food fight in the closing days of the midterm election campaign, trading barbs over the Cheesecake Factory as voters prepare to decide control of Congress.

歐巴馬嘲諷川普大量使用金色裝飾的白宮整修工程，觸動了川普神經。他10月24日在俄亥俄州一場競選活動中說，這位總統把那地方弄得「看起來像海珊開了一家起司蛋糕工廠」。川普本週回擊歐巴馬，長篇捍衛他的整修工程與這家連鎖餐廳。Obama struck a nerve with Trump by mocking his gold-heavy White House renovations, saying during an October 24 campaign stop in Ohio that the president had the place “looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory." Trump clapped back at Obama this week with lengthy defenses of both his renovations and the restaurant chain.

這場餐廳風波，是本次選戰最新一起離題插曲。川普在競選期間曾陰沉警告共產主義，評論男性身材，並開玩笑說，若共和黨保住國會多數，他承諾發給美國人的5000美元款項，恐怕連他在佛州海湖莊園俱樂部的一餐都幾乎付不起。The restaurant flap is the latest offbeat detour in a campaign in which Trump has warned darkly about communism, commented on the physique of men's bodies and joked that the $5,000 payments he is promising Americans if Republicans keep Congress would barely cover a meal at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

美國民眾正為高物價所苦，這是週二選舉前的核心議題。兩人都試圖把對方政黨描繪成脫離選民經濟焦慮的一方。Both men are trying to portray the other party as disconnected from voters' economic anxieties as Americans struggle with high prices, a central issue heading into Tuesday's election.

歐巴馬週三在喬治亞州莫羅為民主黨人助選時說，川普及其追隨者把焦點放在他對起司蛋糕工廠的評論，而不是通膨，「並希望你不會注意到帳單變高、日子更難過」。Campaigning for Democrats in Morrow, Georgia, on Wednesday, Obama said Trump and his followers were focusing on his Cheesecake Factory remarks instead of on inflation "and hope that you won't notice your bills are higher and your life is tougher."

歐巴馬說：「他們為了那個笑話動員了全政府回應，不是為了通膨，而是為了那個笑話。他們對真正的問題沒有解方，所以他們寧可讓媒體和你們談論起司蛋糕工廠。」“They mobilized a whole-of-government response to that joke, not to inflation, but to that joke," Obama said. "They don't have solutions to actual problems, so they'd rather have the media and you talking about the Cheesecake Factory."

保守派批評者稱他的玩笑是在嘲笑這家連鎖餐廳的顧客，歐巴馬回應說：「我是兩個女兒的父親。你們覺得，如果沒有去起司蛋糕工廠，我能撐過她們的童年嗎？」Responding to conservative critics who suggested his joke mocked patrons of the restaurant chain, Obama said: "I am the father of two daughters. Do you think I could have survived their childhood without going to the Cheesecake Factory?"

川普向來不會讓針對個人的譏諷得不到回應，他在德州與密西西比州的競選活動中抓住歐巴馬的說法大作文章。Trump, never one to let a personal jibe go unanswered, seized on Obama's remarks during campaign stops in Texas and Mississippi.

川普在德州科珀斯克里斯蒂說：「他吃的每一片生菜都必須完美，而我沒有那麼挑。」他一邊揮動雙臂，像是在比出一片生菜葉的形狀。"Every piece of lettuce he eats has to be perfect, and I'm not that choosy," Trump said in Corpus Christi, Texas, waving his arms around as if in the shape of a lettuce leaf.

川普指控歐巴馬嘲笑這家連鎖餐廳是菁英主義。這家餐廳以多頁菜單和折衷風格裝潢聞名，店內可能有埃及式柱子和棕櫚樹等設計。川普也駁斥外界對他整修白宮的抱怨。Trump accused Obama of being elitist for mocking the restaurant chain, known for its multi-paged menu and an eclectic decor that can include Egyptian-style columns and palm trees, and dismissed complaints about his White House renovations.

川普週一對記者嘲諷歐巴馬說：「你說那是起司蛋糕工廠，這正好顯示你為什麼是個糟糕的總統。」“For you to say it’s a Cheesecake Factory, that just shows why you were a lousy president,” Trump taunted Obama in comments to reporters on Monday.

美國財政部長史考特・貝森特週二也加入戰局，在華盛頓的起司蛋糕工廠吃了一份法式蘸汁起司漢堡，並說「瑪莎葡萄園島那一群人」應該試試這家連鎖餐廳。歐巴馬在麻州這座高級島嶼擁有住宅。US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joined the fray on Tuesday, eating a French dip cheeseburger at the Cheesecake Factory in Washington and saying "the Martha's Vineyard set" should give the chain a try. Obama owns a home on the upscale Massachusetts island.

這起事件是兩人長年對立的最新爆發。這段恩怨可追溯至2011年，當時川普因不實指控歐巴馬並非在美國出生而在政壇聲名大噪，之後歐巴馬在白宮記者協會晚宴致詞時嘲諷川普。The episode is the latest flare-up in a rivalry that stretches back to 2011, when Trump gained political prominence by falsely accusing Obama of not being born in the US and Obama later mocked him in remarks at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.

在今年期中選舉期間，民主黨人指控川普不了解美國一般民眾關切的問題；而自與伊朗的戰爭開打以來，川普則一再淡化汽油價格上漲。During this year's midterm campaign, Democrats have accused Trump of being out of touch with everyday Americans' concerns, while Trump has repeatedly played down higher gas prices since the war with Iran began.

川普本週在德州談到，如果共和黨保住國會控制權，他提議寄給美國人的5000美元支票該怎麼花，這又讓對手找到另一個攻擊破口。Trump provided his opponents another opening this week when he talked in Texas about how people should spend the $5,000 checks he has proposed sending to Americans if Republicans retain control of Congress.

川普說：「你甚至可以來海湖莊園。問題是，5000美元最多只能買一個漢堡，也許再加一份小甜點。」“You could even come to Mar-a-Lago," Trump said. "The problem is that for $5,000 the most you’ll be able to buy is a hamburger and maybe a small dessert.”

（史蒂夫・霍蘭德報導；柯琳・詹金斯與安德莉亞・里奇編輯）(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Andrea Ricci )