问题不在于国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯是否失败，因为他无能的证据压倒性地表明了这一点。相反，问题在于五角大楼负责人的失误是否影响了他的地位。
The question isn’t whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is failing, since the evidence of his incompetence overwhelming Rather, the question is whether the Pentagon chief’s failures have affected his standing. The answer is readily available.
答案显而易见。一个月前发布的一项CNN民意调查显示，赫格塞斯的支持率为34%，表明这位前福克斯新闻主持人与唐纳德·特朗普——任命他进入内阁的总统——一样不受欢迎。同一项调查还发现，赫格塞斯在共和党人中的支持率低于其他知名政府官员。
A CNN poll released less than a month ago found Hegseth with a 34% approval rating, suggesting that the former Fox News host was as unpopular as Donald Trump — the president who chose him for the Cabinet. The same survey found Hegseth’s support among Republicans is lower than other prominent administration officials. These results came on the heels of a related poll from Quinnipiac University which found only 32% of Americans approved of how the defense secretary was handling his job, while 57% disapproved.
这些结果紧随昆尼皮亚克大学的一项相关民意调查之后，该调查发现只有32%的美国人赞同国防部长处理其工作的方式，而57%的人表示不赞同。为了更好地理解这一数据，在与伊朗战争爆发前一个月，赫格塞斯的净支持率为水下9个百分点；但到9月中旬，他已水下25个百分点。
To put that in context, a month before the war with Iran got underway, Hegseth’s net approval was 9 points underwater, but by mid-September, he was 25 points underwater. With this in mind, and as Hegseth becomes something of a national joke, some Democrats appear to be taking advantage of the secretary’s faltering public support.
考虑到这一点，随着赫格塞斯在某种程度上成为全国性的笑柄，一些民主党人似乎正在利用其在公众中日益衰落的支持度。
The New York Times reported In the final weeks of a midterm congressional battle in which voters’ opposition to the war with Iran has become a major issue, Democrats are increasingly making Mr. Hegseth a main character in their campaign messaging.
《纽约时报》报道称，在中期国会选举的最后几周，选民对伊朗战争的反对已成为一个主要议题，民主党人越来越多地将赫格塞斯作为其竞选信息中的主要人物。
It is an effort to turn one of President Trump’s most recognizable cabinet officials — and one who has been an unapologetic and visible cheerleader for a war that polls show is deeply unpopular — into a liability for Republicans’ fighting to keep their seats.
这是一项将特朗普总统最知名的内阁官员之一——也是一位毫不掩饰、公开为民调显示深不受欢迎的战争摇旗呐喊的人——转变为共和党人在争夺席位时的负担的努力。
This is not to say Democrat is incorporating Hegseth into their midterm messaging, but it’s happening enough to get noticed.
这并不是说民主党正在将赫格塞斯纳入其中期选举信息中，但这种情况发生得足够频繁以至于被注意到。事实上，就在上周，众议院少数党领袖哈基姆·杰弗里斯在一次竞选集会上宣布：“在我们成为多数党后，我们要做的第一件事就是把皮特·赫格塞斯赶出城去。”
Indeed, just last week, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries declared at a campaign rally, “One of the first things we’re going to do in the majority, we’re going to run Pete Hegseth out of town.”The Times’ report added that Hegseth has been of particular interest to Democratic candidates who served in the military, running in districts with deep ties to the armed forces.
《泰晤士报》的报道补充道，海格塞斯一直是曾在军队服役的民主党候选人关注的焦点，这些候选人正在与武装力量关系密切的选区参选。文章中写道：退役陆军准将莉拉·格雷正在佛罗里达州挑战众议员安娜·保利娜·卢纳，她称海格塞斯为“不合格的兄弟会男孩”。陆军作战老兵凯特·康利正在纽约州一个竞争激烈的选区挑战众议员迈克·劳勒，她称他为“耻辱”。此外，退役海军陆战队员乔安娜·门多萨正在亚利桑那州挑战众议员胡安·西斯科马尼，她批评了海格塞斯对军中女性的待遇。
From the article: Leela Gray, a retired Army brigadier general challenging Representative Anna Paulina Luna in Florida, has called Mr. Hegseth an “unqualified frat boy.”Cait Conley, an Army combat veteran challenging Representative Mike Lawler in a competitive New York district, has called him a “disgrace.”And JoAnna Mendoza, a retired Marine running against Representative Juan Ciscomani in Arizona, has criticized his treatment of women in the military.
在南卡罗来纳州，退役三星海军上将南希·拉科尔正将海格塞斯的五角大楼领导力作为她国会竞选的议题。去年，海格塞斯在未公开说明原因的情况下将她解除海军陆战队预备役总指挥职务。
In South Carolina, Nancy Lacore, a retired three-star Navy admiral whom Mr. Hegseth removed as chief of the Navy Reserve last year without publicly explaining why, has made his leadership of the Pentagon an issue in her congressional campaign. We’ll learn soon enough whether these campaign tactics are effective, but I’m struck by the historical oddity of the circumstances.
我们很快就会知道这些竞选策略是否有效，但我对这种情形的历史奇特性印象深刻。的确，回顾海格塞斯最近的前任——劳埃德·奥斯汀、马克·埃斯珀、詹姆斯·马蒂斯、阿什·卡特等——这些国防部长在任职期间并未被美国主流社会广泛知晓。将他们纳入攻击广告中本来也没有任何意义。
Indeed, looking back at Hegseth’s recent predecessors — Lloyd Austin, Mark Esper, James Mattis, Ash Carter et al. — these secretaries, during their tenures, were not widely known to the American mainstream. There wouldn’t have been any point to including them in attack ads. But in 2026, Hegseth’s public profile is much higher — and not in a good way.
但到了2026年，海格塞斯的公众形象知名度大幅提升——而且不是以好的方式。
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