[(Title)] Why Donald Trump attacks the media.

When President Donald Trump first called the media "enemy of the people" last year, it elicited outrage. Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake said it was an example of an "unprecedented" and "unwarranted" White House assault on the free press. The second, third and fourth times Mr Trump used the phrase, it barely merited a shrug. Such is the unique talent of this president - an ability to take an action or opinion that once seemed outrageous and turn it into a new kind of normal.

但当特朗普的第二次、第三次和第四次使用这个词的时候，大家似乎都司空见惯了。这就是这位总统的独特才能——他能够让可怕的行动或言语显得很正常。但即使这种言论不再上头条，记者仍然会把它当一回事儿。

Even if the line doesn't generate headlines anymore, however, journalists still take note. The message, however, may not have been received. In his Sunday morning tweet, the president appears to assert that it's the media's fault that he has decided to label them "enemies of the American people". For Mr Trump, then, this kind of language - if it is a problem - is a problem for the media, not him, to fix.

总统在周日早上的推特中说，他之所以称媒体为"美国人民的敌人"，完全是媒体自身的问题，而应该做出改变的是媒体，而不是他本人。

The irony, of course, is that Mr Trump cites New York Times reports about details of Robert Mueller's Russia investigation that are based on anonymous sources. Whenever the Times runs a story about his administration with similar sourcing, however, it's "fake news". And this gets to the heart of the matter.

最具有讽刺意味的是，特朗普上周五却引用了《纽约时报》根据匿名消息来源调查的有关罗伯特·穆勒的报道。然而，每当《纽约时报》发表有关其政府管理情况的报导时，他却往往称其为“假新闻”。这就是问题所在了。

The president wants positive news coverage for himself and critical coverage of his adversaries. "Fake news", "enemy of the people" and all the other media-bashing is simply a means to achieving that goal.

总统希望媒体对自己只做正面的新闻报道，而对对手进行负面报道。 “假新闻”、“人民的敌人”和媒体的抨击只不过是实现这一目标的手段而已。

In sport, the strategy is called "working the referee". It's the same idea in politics - but the stakes are much higher.

在体育领域，这项策略被称为“操纵裁判”，在政治上这个是相近的，但利害关系要大得多。

In a recent CBS News poll, 91% of "strong supporters" of the president's said they trust Mr Trump to provide them with accurate information. Only 11% said the same thing about the "mainstream media", while 63% said they trusted their own "friends and family".

在最近的CBS新闻民意调查中，91%的总统的“坚定支持者”表示，他们相信特朗普能为他们提供准确的信息。只有11%的人对“主流媒体”持相同看法，63%的人表示信任自己“朋友和家人”。

The president's war of words with the media has contributed to a base of support that is, effectively, invulnerable to negative news.

总统与媒体的口舌之战对他招揽支持有一定的作用，但实际上并不会对负面新闻产生影响。

The question now is whether that base is enough to prevail in the upcoming mid-term congressional elections and, eventually, carry him to re-election victory in 2020. It is, at the very least, a good place to start - and a reason why the president may stick to his current course, in spite of Mr Sulzberger's words of caution.

现在的问题是，目前支持他的人是否足以使之在即将到来的中期国会选举中占上风，并最终使他在2020年重新当选。但不得不说，这是一个好的起点——尽管总统可能会不顾苏兹贝格先生的警告，坚持走自己的路。