總統競選太燒錢耗不起 特朗普發出首封籌款郵件

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.

距離共和黨全國代表大會只剩下不到一個月的時間，唐納德•特朗普卻在21日發出了競選以來首封籌款電子郵件。這位古怪的億萬富翁承諾將付出和籌得款項等額的私人資金，上限是200萬美元。

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.

在發出這封郵件的前一天，一份競選財務報告顯示，進入六月份後，特朗普的競選資金餘額只有130萬美元，這使他成爲了資金缺口最大的現代總統競選人。

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.

對於一個主要政黨的總統候選人而言，現在才發出第一封籌款郵件是有些遲了。籌款活動不但能從小額捐助人那裏籌集到資金，而且還可以提供重要信息，讓候選人能夠最大限度地提高那些最積極的支持者的投票率和參與度。

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.

承諾付出和籌得款項等額的私人資金是長期以來政治籌款郵件中使用的伎倆，但競選人是否真的兌現了這一承諾是無法得知的。目前並沒有法律機制去確保競選人捐出自己承諾過的資金，也許承諾的捐款從來就是一紙空文。

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.

鑑於特朗普曾反覆承諾要捐錢給老兵和其他各類慈善機構，但後來要麼沒有捐要麼被媒體曝光後才捐，對於他這個200萬美元的捐款承諾還是應該持有懷疑觀點的。