总统竞选太烧钱耗不起 特朗普发出首封筹款邮件

一直以来依靠自有资金竞选的亿万富翁特朗普终于也耗不起了！日前特朗普发出首封筹款邮件，并承诺将付出和筹得款项等额的私人资金，上限是200万美元。其实像他这么晚才发出筹款邮件的总统竞选人并不多，大多数候选人的竞选资金都来源于筹款，而不是自掏腰包。

美国总统候选人的竞选资金主要来源于民众和财团。美国的《竞选筹款法》规定了总统选举经费制度。基本结构是向选民筹款，筹款有一定数额限制，一个选民最多捐2400美元。另外还有很多隐形的政治捐款。竞选资金投入最多的是媒体和广告行业。奥巴马、希拉里都曾发出过筹款邮件，竞选团队甚至还研究出了一些邮件筹款技巧，比如写邮件主题用非正式语气，用大字体的纯文字链接等。奥巴马当初为了吸引选民参与，还把捐款门槛降低到五美元，比吃一顿麦当劳还便宜。

With less than a month to go before the Republican National Convention, Donald Trump sent the first fundraising email of his entire campaign on Tuesday. The billionaire eccentric promised to personally match all contributions up to $2 million.
距离共和党全国代表大会只剩下不到一个月的时间，唐纳德•特朗普却在21日发出了竞选以来首封筹款电子邮件。这位古怪的亿万富翁承诺将付出和筹得款项等额的私人资金，上限是200万美元。

The email comes a day after a campaign finance report showed that his campaign had just $1.3 million cash on hand entering June, putting him in the largest financial hole of any modern presidential candidate.
在发出这封邮件的前一天，一份竞选财务报告显示，进入六月份后，特朗普的竞选资金余额只有130万美元，这使他成为了资金缺口最大的现代总统竞选人。

It is fairly late for a presumptive major party presidential nominee to be sending their first fundraising email. Fundraising pitches aren't just useful to pull in money from small-dollar donors, but they also provide important data, enabling the candidate to maximize turnout and engagement from their most active supporters.
对于一个主要政党的总统候选人而言，现在才发出第一封筹款邮件是有些迟了。筹款活动不但能从小额捐助人那里筹集到资金，而且还可以提供重要信息，让候选人能够最大限度地提高那些最积极的支持者的投票率和参与度。

The promise to match donations is also a long-used trope in political fundraising emails, but it's impossible to know if campaigns actually deliver on such promises. There is no legal mechanism to ensure those promised matched funds will be donated, or that they even exist.
承诺付出和筹得款项等额的私人资金是长期以来政治筹款邮件中使用的伎俩，但竞选人是否真的兑现了这一承诺是无法得知的。目前并没有法律机制去确保竞选人捐出自己承诺过的资金，也许承诺的捐款从来就是一纸空文。

Trump's promise to match up to $2 million in contributions should be viewed with skepticism, given that he has repeatedly promised to donate money to veterans groups and other assorted charities and then has either failed to pony up the funds or has only done so after being outed by the press.
鉴于特朗普曾反复承诺要捐钱给老兵和其他各类慈善机构，但后来要么没有捐要么被媒体曝光后才捐，对于他这个200万美元的捐款承诺还是应该持有怀疑观点的。