The approaching holiday has brought not a gentle wind-down in Washington, but convulsions that make the White House seem increasingly dysfunctional, and the US president ever more impetuous. Donald Trump’s announcement that US troops were withdrawing from Syria prompted the resignation of Jim Mattis, the defence secretary and one of the last restraints on the president. Friday night’s partial government shutdown, after Mr Trump refused to drop demands to fund a border wall, fuelled the sense of acrimony and drift in US politics.
即將到來的假期非但沒有給華盛頓帶來些許放松,反而帶來了動蕩,這使得白宮看起來日益功能失調,而美國總統愈發沖動。唐納德?特朗普(Donald Trump)宣布美國將從敘利亞撤軍,這促使國防部長吉姆?馬蒂斯(Jim Mattis)辭職,而后者是限制特朗普最后的“緊箍咒”之一。上周五晚,特朗普拒絕放棄要求國會為修建邊境墻提供資金后,美國部分政府部門關門,加劇了美國政治中的尖銳和茫然感。