2026-08-17T04:00:29.297Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/17/politics/trump-ossoff-midterm-elections
两场相隔两天、相距近1000英里的集会，清晰展现了中期选举选民面临的日益严峻的抉择，以及关乎美国未来走向的迫近清算时刻。
周日在亚特兰大，佐治亚州联邦参议员乔恩·奥索夫尖锐抨击了唐纳德·特朗普总统：称许多选民认为经济正让他们失望，特朗普发动且未能收场的战争也遭其谴责。奥索夫将这场选举归结为对腐败、高成本以及失败的全球领导力的全民公投。
“在唐纳德·特朗普治下，添置冰箱食材、给房屋通电、煮一杯咖啡、为孩子购买学习用品或是为农场购置拖拉机，花费都比以往任何时候都高，”这位民主党议员说道。他指责总统在会议期间昏昏欲睡，并且在战争问题上撒谎，还称尽管“亚伯拉罕·林肯号”航空母舰上的水手们在长达250多天的部署中为国争光，但特朗普却把时间花在打高尔夫和炒股上。
周五在长岛，特朗普发表了共和党希望用来摆脱困扰现任总统的中期选举魔咒的迄今最明确的竞选论调——尽管这位领导人正因其个人不受欢迎、伊朗战争以及选民对高物价的不满而面临逆风。
他指责民主党想要将美国变成一个“共产主义国家”，并宣称民主党向警察和法治宣战。“共产主义者想要把美国变成第三世界国家，变成犯罪和污秽的地狱，”这位总统说道，试图利用进步派民主党人的胜利大做文章。
这种反差勾勒出美国历史上一个痛苦的时刻：一位极不受欢迎的总统试图将民主党打上非美国的极端分子标签，以规避跛脚鸭身份。但他的对手则紧扣经典的变革竞选主题，试图将特朗普的执政失败归咎于共和党，并利用选民对国家现状的愤怒情绪。
多年来，民主党一直难以拿出足以 disqualify 特朗普的论据。他们过去发出的美国民主处于危险之中的警告，对于那些为汽油和食品价格发愁的民众而言，往往显得过于抽象。奥索夫则带来了民主党一直欠缺的东西：尖锐有力的措辞和叙事框架，可供其他候选人借鉴，将特朗普的弱点转化为自身竞选的积极说辞。
这也是为何这位在保守派南方地区和黑人选民中拥有强劲胜选记录的民主党关键票仓议员，被热议可能在2028年参选总统的原因之一。不过首先，他必须争取连任。
奥索夫还展示了民主党如何通过将对手与特朗普的执政记录捆绑，来锁定个人对手。他抨击了自己的对手、众议员迈克·柯林斯——尽管州领导人反对，特朗普仍强行将其列入选票。“佐治亚州配得上更好的选择——好过那个支持战争、支持关税、支持削减你们医保的特朗普傀儡迈克·柯林斯，美国也配得上好过唐纳德·特朗普的领导人，”奥索夫对集会人群说道。
民调显示这位民主党参议员处于领先地位，柯林斯在7月接受CNN记者马努·拉朱采访时称，其对手“在撒谎，原因是他正在落败，而且他知道自己会落败”。
特朗普提出了双管齐下的竞选策略：声称自己的总统任期取得了历史性成就，同时将民主党描绘成不可接受的选择。在长岛，他拒绝为这场战争道歉——美国的公信力正被弱国伊朗挑战，伊朗通过实际封锁霍尔木兹海峡挟持全球经济。
但特朗普在伊朗问题上的脆弱处境暴露无遗：他似乎轻视了这场冲突在国内造成的痛苦。他表示，为了阻止伊朗获得核武器，民众“多付一点点汽油钱”是值得的。他显然对民生 affordability 问题漠不关心——还再次将其嘲讽为民主党编造的竞选说辞——这也可能削弱其经济信息中更积极的一面，比如共和党2025年国内政策法案下超出预期的退税，以及降低处方药价格的努力。
特朗普对进步派民主党人的猛烈抨击，显然旨在将叙事焦点从其经济困境上转移开。除了共产主义指控，特朗普上周还警告称，“圣战分子在各地纷纷当选”。这番言论是在密歇根州民主党联邦参议员初选中，公共卫生专业人士、穆斯林阿卜杜勒·埃尔赛义德击败更温和派候选人获胜之后发表的。此事也应结合他对明尼苏达州索马里裔美国众议员伊尔汗·奥马尔的持续攻击来看。
但特朗普面临一个风险：这种分裂性言论可能会复杂化其连任竞选最重要的要求之一：在两年前壮大了其竞选联盟的关键州，争取独立选民和温和派选民的支持。
不过，考虑到选举环境的艰难，旨在动员特朗普基本盘的策略或许说得通。特朗普不在竞选名单上时，共和党往往无法调动更广泛的“让美国再次伟大”（MAGA）联盟选民。而中期选举中，执政党往往难以比得上那些迫切希望夺回权力的反对党党派支持者的热情。在势均力敌的竞选中，高投票率的MAGA选民或许是阻止共和党损失的一条途径。
尽管共和党面临的政治环境充满挑战，但特朗普希望加以利用的一张王牌也在周末随着中期选战升温而显现。
11月的蓝色浪潮可能取决于民主党是否同意搁置国会初选中出现的意识形态分歧争论。
周日，马里兰州州长韦斯·摩尔告诉CNN记者杰克·塔珀，他的政党必须直接聚焦于那些在住房、食品和医疗保健价格上苦苦挣扎的选民的困境。“任何不关注民众当下感受和现状保护的民主党政策都该被摒弃，”摩尔在《国情咨文》节目中说道。
但特朗普的极不受欢迎似乎常常加剧民主党内部的意识形态分歧，因为这让国会多数席位的前景看起来更近了。
一位进步派民主党人、众议员罗·卡纳周日支持了埃尔赛义德和其他进步派候选人也支持的“全民医保”医疗体系。“（这）可以说是最重要的优先事项。它能省钱，也能救人命，”这位加州议员在NBC的《与媒体见面》节目中说道。
但如果民主党赢得众议院、有望出任议长的民主党领袖哈基姆·杰弗里斯拒绝承诺支持公立医保体系，这预示着明年任何多数党地位下，士气大振的进步派与更温和派民主党人之间可能出现分裂。
“这不是我目前共同发起或支持的立法，”杰弗里斯在NBC节目中说道，并补充道他不支持许多特朗普归咎于民主社会主义者的政策。“我不支持削减警察经费，不支持开放边境，也不支持废除参议院，”他说道。
共和党希望，民主党联盟内部的这些分歧，以及民主党更广泛的温和派名单上出现的一些更激进的候选人，能为特朗普打开一个狭窄的突破口。
在长岛，特朗普再次吹嘘美国是世界上“最热门”的国家，并称美国人有幸生活在一个“黄金时代”。
民主党则辩称，高物价、一场看不到尽头的对外战争，以及一位显然漠不关心的总统，意味着特朗普兜售的不过是一场幻想。
中期选举的结果可能取决于哪种愿景更贴近选民的实际生活体验。
Two visions of America are emerging as midterms draw near. Voters must decide which one is real
2026-08-17T04:00:29.297Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/17/politics/trump-ossoff-midterm-elections
Two rallies, nearly 1,000 miles and two days apart, laid out the increasingly stark choice confronting midterm election voters and a looming moment of reckoning over the nation’s future course.
In Atlanta on Sunday, Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff delivered an acidic takedown of President Donald Trump; an economy that many voters think is failing them; and a war Trump started and has failed to resolve. Ossoff boiled the election down to a referendum on corruption, costs and failed global leadership.
“Under Donald Trump, it costs more than ever to stock your fridge, to power your home, to make a cup of coffee, to buy school supplies for your kid or a tractor for your farm,” the Democrat said. He accused the president of sleeping through meetings and lying about the war, and said that while sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier are doing their nation proud during a deployment of over 250 days, Trump spends his time playing golf and buying stocks.
On Friday, in Long Island, Trump gave the most explicit version yet of an argument Republicans hope will stave off the midterm curse that haunts incumbent presidents — even as their leader faces headwinds over his personal unpopularity, the Iran war and voter frustration over high prices.
He accused Democrats of wanting to turn America into a “communist country” and of declaring war on the police and the rule of law. “The communists want to turn America into a third-world country, into a hellhole of crime and filth,” the president said, seeking to exploit the successes of progressive Democrats.
The contrast encapsulates a bitter moment in American history as a deeply unpopular president attempts to dodge lame-duck status by branding Democrats as un-American extremists. But he’s facing opponents keyed into a classic change campaign as they attempt to saddle Republicans with Trump’s failures and to tap into voters’ fury over the state of the nation.
Democrats have struggled for years to land disqualifying arguments against Trump. Their past warnings that US democracy was in peril often seemed rather esoteric to people struggling to afford gas and groceries. Ossoff is providing something that the party has lacked: abrasive, robust language and framing that can be borrowed by other candidates to weave Trump’s vulnerabilities into a positive case for their own campaigns.
This is one reason a senator with a strong record of winning in the conservative South and among Black voters — a critical Democratic constituency — is drawing talk of a possible 2028 run for president. First, however, he must try to win reelection.
Ossoff is also showing how Democrats can pin down their individual opponents by linking them to Trump’s record. He slammed his opponent, Rep. Mike Collins, whom Trump jammed onto the ballot despite the objections of state leaders. “Georgia deserves better — better than pro-war, pro-tariff, pro-cutting your healthcare Trump puppet Mike Collins, and America deserves better than Donald Trump,” Ossoff told his crowd.
Amid polls showing the Democratic senator in the lead, Collins told CNN’s Manu Raju in July that his foe was “lying, and the reason is he’s losing and he knows he’s losing.”
Trump is laying out a two-pronged campaign: claiming that his presidency is a historic success while branding Democrats as an unacceptable choice. In Long Island, he refused to apologize for a war in which US credibility has been tested by a weaker power as Iran holds the world economy hostage by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz.
Yet Trump’s vulnerable position on Iran was laid bare when he appeared to belittle the pain caused by the conflict at home. He said that it was worth it for people to “pay a tiny little bit more” for gasoline to prevent Iran getting a nuclear weapon. His apparent indifference to affordability issues — which he again mocked as made-up Democratic talking points — also risks undercutting the more positive aspects of his economic message such as larger-than-expected tax refunds under the GOP’s 2025 domestic policy bill and efforts to cut prescription drug prices.
Trump’s searing assault on progressive Democrats is apparently designed to shift the narrative from his economic challenges. In addition to his claims about communism, Trump warned last week that “we have jihadists being elected all over the place.” His comment followed the triumph of Abdul El-Sayed, a public health professional and Muslim, over a more centrist candidate in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary. It should also be placed in the context of his repeated attacks on Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Somali American from Minnesota.
But Trump faces a risk that such divisive rhetoric will complicate one of the most important requirements of his reelection campaign: lining up independent and moderate voters in key states that swelled his coalition two years ago.
Still, given the difficult terrain of the election, a strategy designed to fire up Trump’s base may make sense. Republicans have tended not to drive out the broader MAGA coalition when Trump is not on the ballot. And incumbent parties in midterm elections often struggle to match the enthusiasm of partisans favoring the party desperate to win back power. In tight races, a high turnout of MAGA voters might be one way to stem GOP losses.
While the political environment seems challenging for Republicans, there’s a wild card that Trump hopes to exploit and that was also on display over the weekend as the midterm campaign heated up.
A blue wave in November may depend on the party agreeing to postpone arguments about ideological splits that have emerged in congressional primary campaigns.
On Sunday, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore told CNN’s Jake Tapper that his party must concentrate directly on the plight of voters struggling with the prices of housing, food and healthcare. “Any Democratic policy that’s not focusing on what people are feeling right now and the status quo protection has got to go,” Moore said on “State of the Union.”
But Trump’s very unpopularity seems often to fuel Democratic disputes over ideology since it makes the prospect of congressional majorities seem closer.
One progressive Democrat, Rep. Ro Khanna, on Sunday backed the Medicare-for-All healthcare system also favored by El-Sayed and other progressive candidates. “(It) is arguably the most important priority. It would save money, and it would save lives,” the California lawmaker said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
But Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader in line to be speaker if Democrats win the House, declined to commit to a state-run system, foreshadowing likely splits between emboldened progressives and more moderate Democrats in any majority next year.
“It’s not legislation that I currently am co-sponsoring or that I support,” Jeffries said on NBC, adding he doesn’t back many policies attributed by Trump to democratic socialists. “I do not support defunding the police. I do not support open borders. I do not support abolishing the Senate,” he said.
Republicans hope such differences inside the Democratic coalition and the presence of some more radical candidates on the party’s more broadly moderate lists will offer Trump a narrow opening.
In Long Island, Trump renewed his boast that the United States is the “hottest” country in the world and that Americans are lucky to be living in a “golden age.”
Democrats are arguing that high prices, a foreign war with no end in sight and an apparently uninterested president mean he’s selling a fantasy.
The midterm elections may hinge on which vision is closer to voters’ lived experience.