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.
要从字面意思来理解唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)的话，还是把他的话当真？萨莱纳•齐托(Salena Zito)在2016年9月刊登在《大西洋月刊》(The Atlantic)上的一篇专栏文章中提出了这两个选项。今天，在特朗普第二次掌权之前，比起上次，人们对他的话更要字斟句酌，也更要把他的话当回事。他提名的那些人就是证据，尤其是卫生部长人选小罗伯特•F•肯尼迪(Robert F Kennedy Jr)、国防部长人选皮特•海格塞思(Pete Hegseth)、国家情报总监人选图尔西•加巴德(Tulsi Gabbard)以及司法部长人选马特•盖茨(Matt Gaetz)。这些人选表明，特朗普将远比上次更加激进。此外，一直以来，对于他在贸易政策方面的言论既应该认真对待，也要从字面意思来理解；保护主义不仅是他长期奉行的个人信念，而且他上次已经为之付出努力。