【中美创新时报2024 年 12 月 16日编译讯】(记者温友平编译)当选总统唐纳德·特朗普周一举行了内容广泛的新闻发布会,他在会上表示将保留脊髓灰质炎疫苗的获取渠道,但对其他疫苗含糊其辞,承诺考虑降低药品成本,并表示怀疑他的儿媳可能成为佛罗里达州的下一任参议员。美联社记者Michelle L. Price 和 Adriana Gomez Licon对此作了下述报道。
特朗普发表了一个多小时的讲话,这是他赢得大选后第一次接受记者提问。这次活动让人回想起他第一任期内冗长的新闻发布会,与不经常接受记者提问的总统乔·拜登形成鲜明对比。
以下是他谈到的一些内容:
特朗普就脊髓灰质炎疫苗做出一些保证
特朗普为自己选择的卫生部长、著名的疫苗怀疑论者罗伯特·F·肯尼迪辩护,但表示他个人是脊髓灰质炎疫苗的“忠实信徒”,并将保留获得疫苗的机会。
“你不会失去脊髓灰质炎疫苗,”他说。“这不会发生。”
上周末,参议院共和党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔(Mitch McConnell)为脊髓灰质炎疫苗辩护,他小时候曾患过脊髓灰质炎,此前一份最近的报告披露,肯尼迪的一名顾问提交了一份请愿书,要求撤销 2022 年脊髓灰质炎疫苗的批准。
肯尼迪长期以来一直宣扬疫苗会导致自闭症这一已被揭穿的观点。特朗普似乎质疑两者之间是否存在联系,他说“我们正在努力寻找答案”,并谈到了越来越多的自闭症病例。
“这肯定是不对劲的,我们要找出原因,”他说。
目前没有针对自闭症的血液或生物学测试;相反,医生会根据孩子的行为进行诊断。虽然自闭症的诊断至少已有 80 年的历史,但其定义逐渐扩大到包括更常见的轻度病例。去年的一项研究发现,大约四分之一的自闭症儿童(美国约有 110,000 名)患有最严重的发育障碍,使他们无法说话或智商低于 50,或两者兼而有之。
谈到肯尼迪,“他的激进程度远低于你的想象,”他说。“我认为他思想非常开放,否则我不会把他放在那个位置。”
特朗普指责中间商导致药品价格过高
特朗普描述了他本月与肯尼迪、著名心脏外科医生、脱口秀主持人和生活方式专家、被任命为联邦医疗保险和医疗补助服务中心负责人的穆罕默德·奥兹博士以及顶级制药公司高管共进晚餐的情景,他们在晚餐中讨论了药品价格。
特朗普对这些公司大加赞赏——肯尼迪经常指责这些公司不公平地从美国人身上获利——但他说,高昂的医疗费用是他们晚餐的焦点。
“那次会议的结果是,我们支付的费用太高了,”特朗普说。
特朗普还抨击了药品福利经理,称他们是“可怕的中间人”,推高了药品价格。制药公司一直在积极游说国会限制药品福利经理的作用,这些经理帮助健康保险公司最大的客户决定如何以及哪些处方药将在他们的保险计划中得到保障。
“我不知道这些中间人是谁,但他们非常有钱,”特朗普说。
特朗普的亮相与拜登的风格截然不同
这次新闻发布会是特朗普六周前获胜以来最广泛的公开露面——这位前真人秀明星很少离开公众舞台。
但这也凸显了特朗普在仍是当选总统期间就已经从拜登手中抢走了风头,拜登的任期还有一个月。拜登已经几个月没有举行新闻发布会了,公开露面的时间也有限。
当特朗普谈到当今一些最受关注的问题时——包括看到无人机飞过东北部——拜登本人一直保持沉默,让助手们试图安抚公众。
“我不知道”拉拉·特朗普是否会成为参议员
特朗普似乎对佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯是否会任命他的儿媳担任佛罗里达州参议员持怀疑态度,接替已被提名为国务卿的马可·卢比奥的席位。
当被问及他是否预计德桑蒂斯会提名拉拉·特朗普接替卢比奥时,特朗普说:“我可能不这么认为,但我不知道。”特朗普最近在佛罗里达州执法人员的追悼会上与德桑蒂斯进行了交谈。
特朗普的盟友一直在敦促德桑蒂斯提名拉拉·特朗普,她是特朗普儿子埃里克的妻子,今年担任共和党全国委员会联席主席。
“罗恩的选择做得很好,”特朗普说,但没有详细说明。
他对拉拉·特朗普大加赞赏,包括她在共和党全国委员会的工作,她的部分职责涉及关注“选举诚信”,这是特朗普在错误地声称 2020 年总统大选存在欺诈行为后的工作重点。
特朗普愿意干预可能的 TikTok 禁令
特朗普表示,他将考虑干预美国可能对 TikTok 实施的禁令。根据联邦法律,这家受欢迎的社交媒体平台必须与其位于中国的母公司断绝关系,否则将在 1 月中旬之前被禁止。
他没有提供具体细节,但特朗普称赞该平台帮助他赢得了大选。他的竞选团队将其视为接触年轻、政治参与度较低的选民的桥梁,尤其是当流传出他与名人一起观看 UFC 比赛的视频时。
“我们会看看 TikTok,”他说。“你知道,我对 TikTok 情有独钟。”
特朗普在他的第一任期内试图禁止 TikTok,但后来改变了主意,并承诺“拯救”TikTok。一旦就职,他的司法部将负责执行针对 TikTok 的新联邦法律。
“每个人都想成为我的朋友,”他说
特朗普指出了八年前他第一次就职和今天之间的差异,并表示高管们现在想与他会面。
他说他们当时“充满敌意”。
“每个人都在与我作对,”他谈到自己的第一任期时说道。“这个任期,每个人都想成为我的朋友。我不知道。我的性格变了什么的。”
虽然他在 2021 年被排斥和愤怒地卸任,但特朗普在选举中实现了惊人的转变。上周,他被《时代》杂志评为年度人物,并在纽约证券交易所敲响开市钟,这让他倍感荣幸。
自从当选总统以来,特朗普已经会见了硅谷亿万富翁,包括 Facebook 创始人马克·扎克伯格、苹果首席执行官蒂姆·库克和谷歌首席执行官桑达尔·皮查伊。他透露,他还会见了谷歌联合创始人谢尔盖·布林。特朗普表示,亚马逊创始人杰夫·贝佐斯本周将与他会面。
“我们有很多优秀的高管加入——高管、顶级银行家,他们都在打电话,”他说。“这与第一次完全相反。”
特朗普已经重返世界舞台
随着多场战争的爆发,特朗普试图让自己重返世界舞台。他说他正在努力让被哈马斯在加沙扣押的以色列人质获释,并与以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡进行了“非常好的会谈”。
但周一,他似乎缓解了人们对他在就职前解决俄乌战争的承诺的期望,称这场冲突是“艰难的”和“肮脏的”。
“我们正在努力停止这场战争,这场可怕的、可怕的战争,”他说。“这是一场艰难的战争。这是一场肮脏的战争。这是肮脏的战争。人们被杀害的程度是前所未有的。”
俄罗斯入侵乌克兰是欧洲自二战以来最大的武装冲突,双方造成数万人丧生。
特朗普拒绝透露他自赢得大选以来是否与俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京通话。本月,他在巴黎与乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基会面,当时泽连斯基正在巴黎参加巴黎圣母院的重新开放仪式。
特朗普即将上任的新闻秘书表示,特朗普邀请中国领导人习近平和其他世界领导人参加他 1 月 20 日的就职典礼,但特朗普周一表示,泽连斯基不在其中。“如果他愿意来,我希望他能来,”特朗普说。
特朗普说,习近平尚未表示是否会来。他将这位中国领导人描述为“我的朋友”和“一个了不起的人”,但他承认,新冠疫情影响了他们的关系。
“这对我来说太过分了,”他说。
美联社驻华盛顿记者 Zeke Miller 和 Amanda Seitz 对本报道亦有贡献。
题图:当选总统唐纳德·特朗普于 2024 年 12 月 16 日星期一在佛罗里达州棕榈滩的 Mar-a-Lago 举行的新闻发布会上发表讲话。Evan Vucci/美联社
附原英文报道:
In wide-ranging press conference, Trump discusses pardons, polio vaccines, and border wall. Here are highlights.
By Michelle L. Price and Adriana Gomez Licon The Associated Press,Updated December 16, 2024
President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla.Evan Vucci/Associated Press
President-elect Donald Trump on Monday held a wide-ranging news conference in which he said he would preserve access to the polio vaccine but equivocated on other vaccines, pledged to look at bringing down the costs of pharmaceuticals and expressed doubts that his daughter-in-law might be Florida’s next senator.
Trump held forth for over an hour, the first time he took questions from reporters since winning the election. The event harkens back to his long-winding news conferences from his first term and is a stark contrast from President Joe Biden, who doesn’t often take questions from reporters.
Here’s a look at some of what he touched on:
Trump provides some assurances on polio vaccine
Trump defended his choice for health secretary, prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but said he personally is a “big believer” in the polio vaccine and would preserve access to it.
“You’re not going to lose the polio vaccine,” he said. “That’s not going to happen.”
Over the weekend, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who had polio as a child, spoke out in defense of the polio vaccine after a recent report disclosed that one of Kennedy’s advisers filed a petition to revoke approval for the polio vaccine in 2022.
Kennedy has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism. Trump seemed to question whether there’s a link, saying “We’re looking to find out,” and remarked on the rising cases of autism being diagnosed.
“There’s something wrong, and we’re going to find out about it,” he said.
There are no blood or biological tests for autism; instead, a doctor bases the diagnosis on a child’s behavior. While the autism diagnosis has been available for at least 80 years, the definition gradually expanded to include milder cases, which are more common. A study last year found that about a quarter of kids with autism — about 110,000 in the U.S. — have the most severe version of the developmental disability, which has left them unable to speak or with an IQ below 50 or both.
Of Kennedy, “He’s going to be much less radical than you would think,” he said. “I think he’s got a very open mind, or I wouldn’t have put him there.”
Trump blames middlemen for high price of pharmaceutical drugs
Trump described a dinner he had this month with Kennedy; Dr. Mehmet Oz, a celebrity heart surgeon turned talk show host and lifestyle guru whom he’s tapped to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; and top pharmaceutical executives in which they discussed drug prices.
Trump heaped praise on the companies — the same ones that Kennedy has routinely argued profit off of Americans unfairly — but said the high cost of health care was a focus of their dinner.
“What came out of that meeting is that we’re paying far too much,” Trump said.
Trump also hit pharmaceutical benefits managers, calling them “horrible middlemen” who drive up the cost of drugs. Pharmaceutical companies have been aggressively lobbying Congress to restrict the role of pharmaceutical benefit managers, which help health insurance companies’ biggest clients decide how and what prescription drugs will be covered in their insurance plans.
“I don’t know who these middlemen are, but they are rich as hell,” Trump said.
Trump’s appearance is a clear break from Biden’s style
The press conference was Trump’s most extensive public appearance since his victory six weeks ago — a rare absence from the public stage for the former reality star.
But it also underscored how even while still president-elect, Trump has seized the spotlight from Biden, who still has a month left on his term in office. Biden has not held a press conference in months and has had a limited public schedule.
While Trump was addressing some of the top-of-mind issues of the day — including sightings of drones flying over the Northeast — Biden himself has been silent, leaving it to aides to try to calm the public.
‘I don’t know’ if Lara Trump will be a senator
Trump seemed skeptical that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would appoint his daughter-in-law to be a Florida senator, taking the seat held by Marco Rubio, who has been nominated for secretary of state.
Asked whether he expected DeSantis to name Lara Trump to replace Rubio, Trump said, “I probably don’t, but I don’t know.” Trump recently spoke with DeSantis at a memorial for Florida law enforcement officers.
Trump’s allies have been pushing DeSantis to nominate Lara Trump, who is married to Trump’s son, Eric, and served as co-chair of the Republican National Committee this year.
“Ron’s doing a good job with his choice,” Trump said, without elaborating.
He lavished praise on Lara Trump, including for her work at the RNC, where part of her duties involved focusing on “election integrity,” a priority of Trump’s after he falsely claimed fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump open to intervening in potential TikTok ban
Trump indicated he would look at intervening in the potential ban of TikTok in the U.S. The popular social media platform must cut ties with its China-based parent company or be banned by mid-January under a federal law.
He didn’t offer specifics, but Trump credited the platform with helping him win the election. His campaign saw it as a bridge to reach younger, less politically engaged voters, particularly when clips circulated showing him with celebrities at UFC fights.
“We’ll take a look at TikTok,” he said. “You know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok.”
Trump tried to ban TikTok during his first term but changed his mind and pledged to “save” TikTok. Once he takes office, his Justice Department would be tasked with enforcing the new federal law against TikTok.
‘Everybody wants to be my friend,’ he says
Trump noted the differences between the first time he was to take office eight years ago and today, saying executives now want to meet with him.
He said they were “hostile” back then.
“Everybody was fighting me,” he said about his first term. “This term, everybody wants to be my friend. I don’t know. My personality changed or something.”
While he left office in 2021 ostracized and angry, Trump has had a stunning turnaround leading to his election win. Last week, he was honored by being named Time magazine’s Person of the Year and ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
Since he became president-elect, Trump has met with Silicon Valley billionaires including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. He revealed he had also met with Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will meet with him this week, Trump said.
“We have a lot of great executives coming in — the top executives, the top bankers, they’re all calling,” he said. “It’s like a complete opposite from the first one.”
Trump already returning to world stage
With multiple wars going on, Trump has sought to insert himself back on the world stage. He said he is working to get Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza to be released and had a “very good talk” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But on Monday he seemed to buffer expectations about his promise to solve the Russia-Ukraine war even before taking office, describing the conflict as a “tough one” and a “nasty one.”
“We are trying to get that war stopped, that horrible, horrible war” he said. “It’s a tough one. It’s a nasty one. It’s nasty. People are being killed at levels that nobody’s ever seen.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is Europe’s biggest armed conflict since World War II and has cost tens of thousands of lives on both sides.
Trump declined to say whether he’s spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin since winning the election. He met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris this month when he visited for the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral.
Trump’s incoming press secretary has said that Trump invited Chinese leader Xi Jinping and other world leaders to his Jan. 20 inauguration, but Trump said Monday that Zelenskyy was not among them. “If he’d like to come, I’d like to have him,” Trump said.
Trump said Xi has not yet said whether he is coming. He described the Chinese leader as “a friend of mine” and “an amazing guy” but acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic had affected their relationship.
“It was a bridge too far for me,” he said.
Associated Press writers Zeke Miller and Amanda Seitz in Washington contributed to this report.