特朗普可以当总统，迪士尼老总为什么不能？
已经成为大公司掌门人并攒下大笔财富的首席执行官们常常琢磨：下一步该干点儿什么?
After Donald Trump, the answer may well be a run for the White House.
有了唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)的榜样，这个问题的答案完全可以是竞选总统。
Trump had no political or military experience, the traditional routes to high political office. Virtually his only qualification was his business career, and a checkered one at that, considering his own brush with personal bankruptcy.
特朗普丝毫不具有出任高级政治职务通常所需的政治或军事经验。事实上，他唯一的资本便是他的商业生涯，而且考虑到他本人曾多次破产，那还是一个充满波折的商业生涯。
“There is this sense that if Trump got it, why shouldn’t they?” said David Gergen, co-director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School and an adviser to four presidents. “They’ve been more successful, they have more experience, and they’ve run a public company, which is more equivalent to what a president does than a private company” like the Trump Organization.
“人们有种感觉，如果特朗普可以，那他们为什么不可以?”哈佛大学肯尼迪学院(Harvard Kennedy School)公共领导力中心(Center for Public Leadership)联席主任、为四位总统当过顾问的戴维·格根 (David Gergen)说。“他们更成功，他们有更多经验，他们还经营着上市公司”，比起经营一家私人公司”——譬如特朗普集团(Trump Organization)——“这和总统做的事情更为接近”。
Stu Loeser, once press secretary for Michael R. Bloomberg, the former New York mayor who considered a presidential run last year, concurred. “If you run a company that has employed tens of thousands of people, and generated lots of profit and been undeniably successful, and you look at a sitting president who, to be honest, a lot of business people don’t have much respect for, you think, why not me?” he said.
为去年曾考虑竞选总统的纽约市前市长迈克尔·R·布隆伯格(Michael R. Bloomberg)当过新闻秘书的斯图·勒泽(Stu Loeser)，对此颇有同感。“如果你掌管着一家雇用数万名员工、赚取丰厚利润、获得无可否认的成功的公司，看到现任总统是一位——坦白说——很多商界人士都不太尊重的人物，你会琢磨，为什么不是我呢?”他说。
Loeser runs his own strategic consulting firm, and told me he has clients who are business executives considering a run for high public office. “I can’t tell you their names, obviously,” he said.
勒泽经营着自己的战略咨询公司，他告诉我，他的一些客户是有意竞逐高级公职的商界高管。“显然，我不能告诉你他们的名字，”他说。
Boldface corporate names widely discussed as contenders for the next Democratic presidential nomination include chief executives like Howard Schultz of Starbucks, Robert A. Iger of Disney and Marc Benioff of Salesforce.com, along with Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook chief operating officer, and Oprah Winfrey, chairwoman and chief executive of Harpo Inc., which owns half of the Oprah Winfrey Network.
一些商界名人被普遍当成下一次民主党总统候选人的竞争者来讨论，其中包括星巴克(Starbucks)首席执行官霍华德·舒尔茨(Howard Schultz)、迪士尼(Disney)首席执行官罗伯特·A·艾格(Robert A. Iger)和Salesforce首席执行官马克·贝尼奥夫(Marc Benioff)等，还有Facebook首席运营官谢莉尔·桑德伯格(Sheryl Sandberg)以及哈泼公司(Harpo Inc)董事长兼首席执行官奥普拉·温弗瑞(Oprah Winfrey)——哈泼公司持有奥普拉·温弗瑞电视网络(Oprah Winfrey Network)的半数股权。
All deny they’re running, or even seriously considering it. But everyone demurs so far ahead of the first primaries, as did Hillary Clinton four years ago, and it hasn’t stopped anyone from speculating. That’s especially the case for people who, appalled by the Trump administration, can hardly wait for the next campaign.
所有这些人都否认他们会参选，甚至否认自己在认真考虑此事。但每个人都像四年前的希拉里·克林顿(Hillary Clinton)一样，是在第一场初选还很遥远的时候予以否认，而这没能阻止人们猜来猜去。尤其是那些被特朗普政府吓到、对下一场大选迫不及待的人。
“I feel many of these chief executives are responding to a public longing for a strongman, or woman, a strong leader,” Gergen said. “There’s a sense that’s why Trump got elected. You’re seeing the same thing in Europe, in Asia, in a long list of countries. People are dissatisfied with standard politicians. Military types and business people with a strong track record offer an attractive alternative.”
“公众一直渴望出现一个强悍的男人或女人，一位强人领袖，我认为这些首席执行官中的很多人响应了这种呼声，”格根说。“这种情绪便是特朗普当选的理由。你在欧洲、在亚洲，在一长串国家里都能看到这种情况。人们对标准的政客感到不满。具备军事作风的人物以及有着良好业绩的商人提供了另一个颇具吸引力的选项。”
Apart from proven business experience, they have widespread name recognition or identification with major consumer brands. And they have enough money to finance their own campaigns.
除了过硬的经验，他们还拥有与知名消费品牌相捆绑的知名度或识别度。另外，他们有足够多的钱，可以为自己的竞选活动提供资金支持。
I’ve spoken this week to multiple people who have at least discussed the possibility of running for office with Schultz and Iger. (All declined to be named discussing what were private conversations.)
本周，我与多位至少是跟舒尔茨和艾格探讨过竞选公职可能性的人士有过交流。(因为谈论的是私人间的谈话，他们均要求匿名。)
Schultz, 63, with a fortune estimated by Forbes at $3 billion, came close to making a bid last year, but backed out after concluding it would be very difficult to defeat Clinton, who seemed to have the Democratic nomination all but locked up and at the time seemed likely to win the presidency.
现年64岁、据《福布斯》(Forbes)估计拥有30亿美元身家的舒尔茨，去年差一点儿参选，但在认定击败克林顿会是一项非常艰巨的任务之后退缩了。当时，克林顿看似几乎锁定了党内提名，而且有可能当选总统。
Those circumstances have obviously changed drastically. With Trump in office, the next Democratic race appears wide open, and many friends and potential donors are urging Schultz to run.
现在，情况显然已经出现了戏剧性的变化。随着特朗普入主白宫，民主党的下一次党内角逐看上去变得非常开放，舒尔茨的很多朋友和潜在捐款人正敦促他参选。
Schultz seemed to pave the way in December, when he announced he’d step down as Starbucks’ chief executive in April. But he continues to be actively involved in the expansion of the company’s high-end “roasteries” as well as its social-impact initiatives.
舒尔茨去年12月似乎在为此铺路，他当时宣布将于今年4月辞去星巴克首席执行官一职。不过他会继续积极参与该公司的高端“咖啡馆”的扩张，以及它的社会影响计划。
“Howard Schultz is definitely being pursued,” Gergen said. “He has a powerful social conscience. He comes from a very different place than the kind of chief executive with a big ego who wants the trappings of presidential power.”
“霍华德·舒尔茨显然是热门，”格根说。“他有着很强的社会良知。他跟那种自负的想要拥有总统权力光环的首席执行官完全不是一路人。”
Schultz declined to comment.
舒尔茨拒绝置评。
Last year Iger, 66, told The Hollywood Reporter that “a lot of people — a lot — have urged me to seek political office,” and last week the entertainment publication fueled renewed speculation when it reported that Iger had discussed the possibility with Bloomberg.
66岁的艾格去年曾告诉《好莱坞报道》(The Hollywood Reporter)，“很多人——很多——都催我谋求政治职位”;这本娱乐刊物上周又报道说，艾格和布隆伯格探讨过这种可能性，从而让新一轮揣测愈演愈烈。
People who have discussed a possible presidential run with Iger told me that his discussion with Bloomberg, some years ago, focused more on a possible run for mayor of New York City, where Iger has an apartment. New York has long welcomed nonresident candidates like Clinton, so Iger’s California residency isn’t seen as an obstacle.
与艾格探讨过竞选总统可能性的人告诉我，多年前，艾格和布隆伯格的讨论以竞选纽约市市长的可能性为重点，艾格在那里有一套公寓。纽约市一直都很欢迎不是当地居民的候选人，比如克林顿，因此艾格住在加州并不被视作障碍。
Both Iger and Bloomberg declined to comment.
艾格和布隆伯格均拒绝置评。
Whether any of those jobs, including the presidency, would actually be better than being chief executive of Disney remains an open question. After earlier announcing his retirement, Iger recently said he was willing to extend his contract, which would eliminate the need for any high-profile exit strategy, at least for the next few years.
从事这其中的任何一份工作，包括出任总统，是否真的会比担任迪士尼首席执行官更好，还是个有待商榷的问题。继早前宣布引退的消息之后，艾格最近又表示，他愿意续约——这会让一条引人注目的退路变得没有必要，至少在未来几年里是如此。
Campaign buttons emblazoned with “Vote for Benioff” and “Marc Benioff for President” circulated two years ago at Salesforce’s annual Dreamforce conference in San Francisco, which draws hundreds of thousands of participants and has been viewed by some as a likely launching pad for any Benioff campaign.
两年前，印有“投贝尼奥夫一票”和“选马克·贝尼奥夫作总统”字样的竞选纪念徽章，曾在Salesforce于旧金山举办的“梦想的力量(Dreamforce)年会上发放。该年会有数以十万计的参与者，被一些人视为贝尼奥夫开展竞选活动的合适跳板。
Sandberg’s coming nationwide tour to promote the new book she co-authored, “Option B,” which describes coming to terms with her husband’s sudden death in 2015 and other stories of coping with adversity, has fueled speculation (and possible wishful thinking) that the book could be a springboard for a presidential campaign.
桑德伯格即将在全国巡回推广她参与撰写的新书《次选》(Option B)，该书讲述了她如何接受丈夫在2015年的猝死以及其他应对逆境的故事。这更让人猜测(甚至可能是希望)该书会成为她竞选总统的跳板。
As a billionaire ($1.47 billion, Forbes estimates) and a key executive of the hugely successful Facebook, Sandberg has enormous name recognition. Her previous book, “Lean In,” was a best-seller and inspired a rallying cry for women. She has worked in politics before, as an assistant to former Treasury secretary Lawrence H. Summers, and was a donor to Clinton’s campaign. She was considered a candidate for a top post in any Clinton administration.
作为亿万富翁(据《福布斯》估计，她的财富为14.7亿美元)以及非常成功的Facebook重要高管，桑德伯格拥有很高的知名度。她的上一本书《向前一步》(Lean In)十分畅销，激发了女性的斗志。她之前在政界工作过，担任前财政部长劳伦斯·H·萨默斯(Lawrence H. Summers)的助理，也曾是克林顿竞选的捐款人。她被认为有望在克林顿的政府任要职。
Sandberg has denied any immediate presidential ambitions, insisting that she loves her job at Facebook. At 47, she’s under no pressure to run this election cycle.
桑德伯格否认近期有竞选总统的打算，坚称热爱自己在Facebook的工作。47岁的她不必急于参加本届竞选。
(Widespread reports that Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg would run for president seem even more far-fetched. The speculation appears to have been set off by a Bloomberg News report that Zuckerberg would retain voting control of Facebook even if he sold his shares and served in a government position for up to two years. Zuckerberg has denied any interest in running.)
(广泛流传的Facebook创始人兼首席执行官马克·扎克伯格[Mark Zuckerberg]会竞选总统的报道就更是不可信了。这种猜测似乎源自彭博新闻社[Bloomberg News]的一项报道，该报道称，即使扎克伯格出售自己的股票，在政府任职两年，也将保留Facebook的投票控制权。扎克伯格否认对竞选总统有任何兴趣。)
Then there’s Winfrey, 63, who for many Democrats might amount to the dream candidate: She has unrivaled star power, is an African-American woman, has run a successful business, and has a fortune estimated by Forbes at $3 billion.
然后是63岁的温弗瑞，对很多民主党人来说，她可能是最理想的候选人：她拥有无与伦比的明星力量，她是一名非裔美国女性，经营一个成功的公司，据福布斯估计，她拥有30亿美元的财富。
In an interview broadcast last week on Bloomberg Television but taped in December, the host, David Rubenstein, brought up the idea: “It’s clear that you don’t need government experience to be elected president of the United States, right?”
上周，在彭博电视台(Bloomberg Television)播放的去年12月录制的采访中，主持人戴维·鲁本斯坦(David Rubenstein)提到了这个想法：“很显然，你不需要政治经验就能当选美国总统，是吧?”
“That’s what I thought,” Winfrey replied. “I thought, ‘Oh gee, I don’t have the experience, I don’t know enough.’ And now I’m thinking, ‘Oh! Oh.'”
“我就是这么想的，”温弗瑞回答道，“过去我想的是，‘哦，天哪，我没有那方面的经验，我知道得不够。’现在我想的是，‘哦!哦。’”
But when Rubenstein began to ask, “As you consider whether you are going to run for president of the United States or not ...,” she interjected, “No, that won’t be happening.”
但是当鲁本斯坦问道，“在你考虑是否参与美国总统竞选时……”她打断说，“不，我不会参选。”
