2026-05-16 10:05:41 UTC / 路透社
作者：理查德·考恩
2026年5月16日 美国东部时间上午10:05 更新于2小时前
[1/2]2026年5月14日，美国华盛顿前东翼区域在建的计划中的白宫舞厅工程仍在推进。路透社/伊芙琳·霍克斯坦/档案照片
华盛顿，5月16日（路透社）——希望在11月选举中赢得国会控制权的民主党人，正利用共和党对唐纳德·特朗普总统提议的4亿美元白宫舞厅的支持，将其政党描绘为脱离选民生活成本担忧的群体。
随着共和党推进一项可能包含数亿美元舞厅拨款的投票，民主党人指出，自特朗普发动对伊朗战争以来，汽油价格上涨了50%以上，同时他们称特朗普的政策加剧了医疗保健、化肥和电力成本的上涨。
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“这是一场完美的丑陋风暴，”明尼苏达州民主党参议员艾米·克洛布查尔对记者表示，她引用了本州一位农民的话。
在华盛顿之外，民主党候选人将该项目描述为脱离美国工薪阶层担忧的 frivolous 转移视线之举。
“这是一个我们不需要的虚荣项目，”在俄亥俄州东北部竞选众议院席位的民主党人布莱恩·波因德克斯特在一次采访中表示。“我希望争取到的大多数选民……担心的是食品、公用事业和支付房租。”
他的对手、现任共和党议员马克斯·米勒未回应置评请求。
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一些共和党人表示，舞厅是对过时白宫的必要改进，与 broader 经济无关。
“很难将两者联系起来，这并不合适，”佛罗里达州共和党议员丹尼尔·韦伯斯特表示。
其他人则表示，在11月选举前夕，此举形象不佳，届时众议院和参议院的控制权都处于争夺之中。
“我们在谈论建舞厅，同时我们还在努力理顺经济。时机非常糟糕，”北卡罗来纳州共和党参议员汤姆·蒂利斯告诉美国有线电视新闻网。
共和党人正强调他们去年通过的减税法案，以此证明他们已经在解决负担能力问题。但特朗普本人并不总是坚持这一说法。
“我不会考虑美国人的财务状况。我谁都不考虑，”他周二在被问及伊朗战争引发的成本上涨时对记者表示。他说，他主要担心的是阻止德黑兰发展核武器。
白宫发言人戴维斯·英格尔表示，政府正在努力降低医疗保健和其他成本，使其更可负担。
英格尔表示，相关拨款是一项一揽子计划的一部分，该计划将使特勤局“能够妥善应对这个历来威胁升级的环境中日益增长的政治暴力威胁”。
华盛顿改造计划
作为前房地产开发商，特朗普已经拆除了白宫东翼，推进这座9万平方英尺的舞厅项目。目前大型国事活动都在南草坪的帐篷中举行，该舞厅将能够承办此类活动，它将建在一个加固的地下军事综合体上方。
该项目的规模和政府的筹款方式遭到了监督团体的批评，他们表示这引发了透明度、捐赠者影响力以及是否遵守长期以来的道德规范的质疑。
特朗普表示，该项目已筹集了约3亿美元，但他未提供资金来源的细节。
该舞厅是特朗普 overhaul 华盛顿地标建筑的多项举措之一，包括肯尼迪艺术中心、林肯纪念堂倒影池以及提议在阿灵顿公墓附近修建的凯旋门。
特朗普坚称，舞厅不会花费纳税人一分钱，因为将通过私人捐赠和他自掏腰包来承担费用。
但在4月一名枪手试图冲击特朗普出席的华盛顿酒店黑色领带晚宴后，南卡罗来纳州共和党参议员林赛·格雷厄姆呼吁国会批准3.23亿美元的纳税人资金用于舞厅建设，理由是安全担忧。
共和党人目前正在推进一项立法，该法案将为总统安保提供10亿美元资金，其中约4亿美元用于白宫建筑群。参议院可能于下周进行投票。
“无论总统是谁，属于哪个政党，我们都希望保护他们，”宾夕法尼亚州共和党议员格伦·汤普森表示。“我认为这个建设项目能够做到这一点。”
该立法的细节尚未公开，目前尚不清楚是否会直接为舞厅建设提供资金。
参议院多数党领袖约翰·图恩表示，需要10亿美元来加强特勤局并加固白宫建筑群。“舞厅将由私人资助，”他说。
民主党人表示，该立法没有此类保障措施。“如果这笔钱不是用于舞厅，他们应该在法案中明确写明这一点，”俄勒冈州民主党参议员杰夫·默克利告诉路透社。
虽然2028年才会举行总统选举，但特朗普在11月的中期选举中占据主导地位。民调显示，选民不认可他对经济、移民打击、伊朗战争以及舞厅的处理方式。
本月公布的《华盛顿邮报-美国广播公司新闻》民调发现，56%的美国人反对舞厅项目，仅有28%的人支持。
在这种情况下，安保资金可能难以在参议院通过，目前共和党以53票对47票占据多数，在众议院共和党以217票对212票的微弱多数优势下，可供支配的票数不多。
“我收到了选区各地居民的反馈，他们不希望自己辛苦赚来的税款流向唐纳德·特朗普的舞厅，”竞选宾夕法尼亚州众议院席位的民主党候选人鲍勃·哈维表示，他指出现任共和党议员布莱恩·菲茨帕特里克曾投票支持伊朗战争和特朗普的关税政策。
菲茨帕特里克的发言人凯西-李·沃尔德伦表示：“菲茨帕特里克议员反对使用纳税人资金支付舞厅费用，他将据此投票。”
理查德·考恩报道，史蒂夫·霍兰补充报道；安迪·沙利文和辛西娅·奥斯特曼编辑
我们的标准：汤森路透信托原则。
Democrats frame Trump ballroom as symbol of Republican disconnect from voters’ affordability woes
2026-05-16 10:05:41 UTC / Reuters
By Richard Cowan
May 16, 2026 10:05 AM UTC Updated 2 hours ago
[1/2]Construction continues on the planned White House ballroom in the area of the former East Wing in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 14, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) – Democrats hoping to win control of Congress in November’s elections are seizing on Republicans’ support of President Donald Trump’s proposed $400 million White House ballroom to portray his party as out of touch with voters’ cost-of-living concerns.
As Republicans move toward a vote that might include hundreds of millions of dollars for the ballroom, Democrats are pointing to a more than 50% jump in gasoline prices since Trump launched a war with Iran, as well as rising healthcare, fertilizer and electricity costs they say his policies have worsened.
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“It’s a perfect storm of ugly,” Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota told reporters, quoting a farmer in her state.
Outside of Washington, Democratic candidates are portraying the project as a frivolous diversion from working Americans’ concerns.
The ballroom “is a vanity project that we don’t need,” Brian Poindexter, a Democrat running for a House of Representatives seat in northeastern Ohio, said in an interview. “Most of the people I hope to serve … worry about food, utilities, paying the rent.”
His rival, incumbent Republican Representative Max Miller, did not respond to a request for comment.
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Some Republicans say the ballroom is a needed improvement for an outdated White House and has nothing to do with the broader economy.
“It’s hard to make that connection there. It doesn’t fit,” said Republican Representative Daniel Webster of Florida.
Others say it’s a bad look ahead of the November elections, when control of the House of Representatives and the Senate is at stake.
“We’re talking about building a ballroom, and we’re trying to get the economy squared away. Timing is bad,” Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina told CNN.
Republicans are highlighting tax cuts they passed last year as they make the case they have tackled affordability concerns. But Trump himself has not always stuck to that message.
“I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody,” he told reporters on Tuesday when asked about rising costs spurred by the Iran war. He said his main concern was preventing Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle said the administration was working to make healthcare and other costs more affordable.
The funding in question is part of a package that would enable the Secret Service “to properly address the ever growing threats of political violence in this historically heightened threat environment,” Ingle said.
WASHINGTON MAKEOVER
Trump, a former real estate developer, has already demolished the East Wing of the White House as he forges ahead with the 90,000-square-foot ballroom. It would be capable of hosting large state events that are now held in tents on the South Lawn. It would sit atop a fortified underground military complex.
The scale of the project and the administration’s handling of fundraising have drawn criticism from watchdog groups who say it raises questions about transparency, donor influence and adherence to longstanding ethics norms.
Trump has said roughly $300 million has been raised for the project, though he has not provided details on the source of that money.
The ballroom is one of several efforts Trump has undertaken to overhaul Washington landmarks, including the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and a proposed triumphal arch near Arlington Cemetery.
Trump has insisted the ballroom would not cost taxpayers one cent because of private donations and money out of his own pocket.
But after a gunman tried to storm a black-tie gala featuring Trump in April at a Washington hotel, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina called for Congress to approve $323 million in taxpayer money for the ballroom, citing security concerns.
Republicans are now advancing legislation that would include $1 billion for presidential security, including roughly $400 million for the White House complex. A vote in the Senate is possible next week.
“We want to protect our presidents no matter who they are, what party they’re in,” said Republican Representative Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania. “I think that this construction project does that.”
Details of the legislation have not yet been publicly released, and it is not clear whether it would fund ballroom construction directly.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the $1 billion is needed to bolster the Secret Service and harden the White House complex. “The ballroom is being financed privately,” he said.
Democrats say the legislation contains no such guardrails. “If it’s not for the ballroom, they should write that right into the bill,” Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon told Reuters.
While there is no presidential election until 2028, Trump looms large over November’s midterm elections. Polling shows voters disapprove of his handling of the economy, his immigration crackdown, the Iran war — and the ballroom.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll released this month found Americans opposed the ballroom project by 56% to 28%.
In such an environment, it may be difficult for the security funding to pass the Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-47 majority, and the House, where their 217-212 majority gives them few votes to spare.
“I have heard from residents all over the district, they don’t want their hard-earned tax dollars going to Donald Trump’s ballroom,” said Bob Harvie, a Democratic candidate running for a Pennsylvania House seat, noting incumbent Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick had cast votes supporting the Iran war and Trump’s tariffs.
Fitzpatrick spokesperson Casey-Lee Waldron said: “Congressman Fitzpatrick is opposed to taxpayer money being used to pay for the ballroom, and he will be voting accordingly.”
Reporting by Richard Cowan, additional reporting by Steve Holland; editing by Andy Sullivan and Cynthia Osterman
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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