世界将不会注意，也不会长久记住，凯蒂·扎卡里亚时代。的确，唐纳德·特朗普第二任期的第二任白宫新闻秘书的任期，在五天和一场仅14分钟的新闻发布会后结束，已逐渐淡入记忆。
The world will little note, nor long remember, the Katie Zacharia era. Indeed, the tenure of the second White House press secretary of Donald Trump’s second term, which ended after five days and a single, 14-minute press conference, is already receding into memory.
然而，比她作为新闻秘书的贡献，或她所代表的理念更重要的是，扎卡里亚所代表的时期：特朗普政府回归其首任期的那种无能混乱。
Yet what matters more than her press-secretarial contributions, or the ideas she stood for, is the period Zacharia represents: the Trump administration’s reversion to the hapless chaos of the president’s first term.
特朗普的首个任期主要是一场闹剧，让笨拙的助手们面对诸如在内阁室找不到灯开关、把汉堡扔向白宫墙壁、预订错四季酒店等挑战。特朗普像更换脊椎乐队鼓手一样频繁更换人员，一个又一个受雇的帮手因沮丧或羞愧而离开。
Trump’s initial go-round was primarily a farce, setting bumbling aides against challenges such as finding the light switches in the Cabinet room, hurling burgers against the White House wall, and booking the wrong Four Seasons. Trump cycled through personnel like Spinal Tap drummers, as one hired helper after the next left in frustration or shame.
第二任期运行的，如果谈不上正常，至少是相对高效。幕僚长苏西·怀尔斯将行政部门从一座即将爆炸的烟花工厂，变成了一台不断将总统的任性之举转化为法律的机器。
The second term has operated with, if not normality, at least comparative efficiency. Chief of Staff Susie Wiles turned the executive branch from an exploding fireworks factory into a machine relentlessly processing the president’s whims into law.
然而，随着中期选举临近，这台机器开始出现故障。在短短几天内，国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯宣布将直播一场公开处决，却被特朗普推翻；政府解雇了驻希腊大使金伯利·吉尔福伊尔，原因是她从事公然的腐败行为，甚至让历史上最腐败的政府也感到尴尬；还有报道称，特朗普正在询问朋友们对怀尔斯的看法，这在历史上通常是他转而攻击下属的前兆。
Yet as the midterm elections draw near, the machine has begun to sputter. In the span of days, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced he would livestream a public execution, only for Trump to overrule him; the administration fired Kimberly Guilfoyle, its ambassador to Greece, for engaging in corruption so overt, it embarrassed even the most corrupt administration in history; and reported that Trump is asking his friends what they think of Wiles, which is historically the prelude to his turning on an underling.
在这场多车相撞事故中，扎卡里亚短暂地走到前台，成为这届政府结结巴巴的面孔。
In the midst of this multicar pileup, Zacharia briefly stepped forward as the administration’s stammering face.
如果你曾在公共场合感到尴尬，她的那场单独新闻发布会就像反复出现的噩梦。扎卡里亚低着头站在讲台上，语气就像一个患有严重焦虑症的孩子在全校师生面前口头汇报三年级读书报告。她不得不多次停下来深吸几口气。她在一个典型片段中说：“特朗普有一次历史性的单日战争，而现在我们……我们拥有一个蓬勃发展的经济和良好的关系”——在这里她停顿了一下，试图收拾自己——“与委内瑞拉的关系。美国在2025年实现了创纪录的国内石油和天然气产量，在2026年实现了原油和石油产品出口的创纪录水平。”
If you have ever felt awkward in a public setting, her single press conference was the stuff of recurrent nightmares. Zacharia read from the podium, head down, in the tone of a third-grade book report delivered verbally in front of the entire school by a child with crippling anxiety. She had to pause multiple times to take gulps of air. Trump, she said in one typical segment, “had a historic one-day war, and now we are, have a booming economy, and a great relationship”—here she stopped to catch herself—“with Venezuela. The U.S. achieved record domestic oil and gas production in 2025 and record crude and petroleum product exports in 2026.”
在另一个时刻，当她试图讨论核电站时，她说：“这是特朗普总统正在兑现的事情，就像他兑现每一个承诺一样。”（停顿，喘气。）“除此之外，它，我们将会，它，我们将会，阿拉斯加LNG管道项目有540亿美元相关投资。”接着她对在场的记者说：“我的目标是能够与总统完全同步地进行沟通，因为他是他自己最好的代言人，而且他肯定会以——带着这一点——引领前进的方向。”
At another point, attempting to discuss nuclear-power plants, she called them “something President Trump is delivering on, just like he delivers on every promise.” (Pause, gasp for breath.) “In addition to that, it, we will be, it, we will be, there is $54 billion tied to the Alaska LNG pipeline.”Then she told the assembled reporters, “My goal is to be able to communicate that in complete tandem with the president, as he is his own best spokesperson, and will absolutely be leading the way as—with that.”It was as if the notion that Trump could do her job much better than she could had intruded into her thoughts and made its way out of her mouth.
仿佛特朗普能够比她做得更好的这一想法闯入了她的思绪，并从她口中说了出来。她在仅回答了三个问题后就结束了新闻发布会。
She wrapped up the press conference after answering only three questions. Shortly after, she appeared with the president on the White House lawn, and when a reporter asked which state’s bar exam she had passed—Zacharia has described herself as an attorney—she replied, mysteriously, “When I moved to China.”
不久之后，她出现在白宫草坪上，与总统一起出现。当一名记者问她通过了哪个州的律师资格考试——扎卡里亚曾自称是一名律师时，她神秘地回答说：“当我搬到中国的时候。”事情很快就崩溃了。她出现在肖恩·汉尼蒂的节目中，或许期待着汉尼蒂一贯的温柔对待——以至于他的姓氏甚至成为一个合成词，用来形容友善的危机公关。
Matters fell apart quickly. She appeared on Sean Hannity’s show, perhaps expecting the tender treatment for which Hannity is so synonymous that his last name has become a portmanteau, , for friendly damage control. Instead he subjected her to an interrogation for which she was predictably unprepared.
但相反，他对她进行了一场她显然毫无准备的审讯。事实上，她的辩护就是描述自己准备不足。“我觉得我真的在准备时间非常有限的情况下挺身而出。考虑到我上岗可能不到八小时，早上还拿到了简报手册，我觉得我已经尽了最大努力，肖恩，为了那天为美国人民服务。”有时候，你的最好也不够好。扎卡里亚就是这样。
Indeed, her defense consisted of describing herself as unprepared. “What I feel is I really stepped up to the plate with very little prep time. Given the fact that I’d been on the job less than maybe eight hours and had a briefing book in the morning, I feel like I did my very best, Sean, to deliver for the American people that day.”Sometimes, your best just isn’t good enough. So it was with Zacharia.
整个政府也是如此——陷入一场失败的战争和持续的通胀，四处寻找替罪羊来承担这场灾难的责任。而这些人，都不是唐纳德·特朗普。
So it is with the whole administration—mired in a losing war and persistent inflation, and flailing about for people to blame for the debacle. People who aren’t Donald Trump.