特朗普政府如何利用流行文化和宗教获取政治利益
How the Trump administration co-opts pop culture and re…
From master Jedi, to a pope, to AI Jesus, Trump has a track record of using pop culture reference as propoganda.
从大师级绝地武士到教皇，再到AI耶稣，特朗普有利用流行文化典故作为宣传品的记录。
On April 15, United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth led a prayer session at the Pentagon. But instead of quoting from any recognised canon of sacred scripture, Hegseth’s prayer sounded unmistakably like Samuel L. Jackson’s “Jules”, a hitman character from Quentin Tarantino’s iconic 1994 film Pulp Fiction.
4月15日，美国国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯（Pete Hegseth）在五角大楼主持了一场祈祷会。但赫格塞斯的祈祷内容并非引用任何公认的圣经典籍，其风格却与昆汀·塔伦蒂诺（Quentin Tarantino）标志性的1994年电影《低俗小说》（Pulp Fiction）中的杀手角色“朱尔”（Jules）的台词，无法不辨。
In his interrogation of white-collar criminal Brett, Jules delivers a heavily embellished monologue that draws from, and expands on, Ezekiel 25:17. The scene climaxes, in typical Tarantino style, with the brutal murder of Brett and his colleagues.
在审问白领罪犯布雷特（Brett）时，朱尔发表了一段经过大量润饰的独白，这段独白借鉴并扩展了《以西结书》25章17节的内容。在典型的塔伦蒂诺风格中，该场景的高潮是布雷特和他的同事们遭受了残忍的谋杀。
Hegseth’s version, which he said was recited by the Sandy 1 Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) mission in Iran, deviates only slightly from Jackson’s monologue.
赫格塞斯的版本声称是在伊朗的“桑迪1战地搜救”（Sandy 1 Combat Search and Rescue, CSAR）任务中传诵的，与杰克逊的独白仅有微小的偏差。
The biggest difference in this case is the symbolism. The target here is not a bunch of college kids with a briefcase they shouldn’t have, but the nation of Iran. Hegseth is the mobster and the American military are the hitmen on a violent but “ divinely sanctioned ” war.
本案最大的区别在于象征意义。这里的目标不是一群带着不该携带公文包的大学生，而是伊朗这个国家。赫格塞斯扮演了黑帮分子，而美国军队则是在一场暴力但“神圣授权”的战争中的杀手。
The tone has changed, too. While Jackson’s monologue is highly dramatic, stylised, and imbued with more than just a little irony, Hegseth’s reframe renders it serious and devotional.
基调也发生了变化。虽然杰克逊的独白极具戏剧性、风格化，并充满的不仅仅是一点讽刺，但赫格塞斯的重新诠释使其显得严肃而虔诚。
Leaving aside the cognitive dissonance of an avowedly “Christian” administration conflating Tarantino with scripture, this moment speaks to a rather unsettling relationship between Trump, pop culture and religion.
抛开一个公开宣称“基督教”的政府将塔伦蒂诺与圣经混为一谈所产生的认知失调不谈，这一时刻揭示了特朗普、流行文化与宗教之间一种相当令人不安的关系。
From business mogul, to Jedi, to the Pope
从商业大亨，到绝地武士，再到教宗
Trump courted pop culture prior to his politics, most notably in cameos such as Home Alone 2 (1992), The Little Rascals (1994), and as the host of The Apprentice (2004-17). He even leveraged his celebrity status to boost himself to the presidential platform.
特朗普在政治生涯之前就热衷于流行文化，最著名的例子包括出演《空屋男孩2》（1992年）、《小屁孩日记》（1994年）等电影中的客串角色，以及担任《学徒》（The Apprentice，2004-17年）的主持人。他甚至利用了自己的名人地位来提升自己登上总统宝座的平台。
As president, he has continued to tap into pop culture dialogues. He uses the power of social media and AI to promote his brand and policies, while weighing in on the culture wars.
作为总统，他持续地挖掘流行文化的话题。他利用社交媒体和人工智能的力量来推广自己的品牌和政策，同时参与到文化战争的讨论中。
On May 4 of last year (Star Wars Day), Trump posted an image on X of himself as a muscular Jedi, via the official White House account. However, he seems unaware that by brandishing a red lightsaber he is actually representing himself as a Sith Lord, the epitome of evil in the Star Wars universe.
去年5月4日（星球大战日），特朗普通过官方白宫账号在X上发布了一张自己作为肌肉绝地武士的图片。然而，他似乎没有意识到，挥舞红色的光剑实际上是在将自己塑造成《星球大战》宇宙中邪恶的化身——西斯尊主。
In October, he posted an AI-generated video of himself in Top Gun mode, pouring what appeared to be faeces on protesters attending a No Kings rally.
去年10月，他发布了一段AI生成的视频，视频中他身着《壮志凌云》的装扮，向参加“无王集会”的抗议者泼洒了看起来像粪便的东西。
He also took advantage of the buzz surrounding the Catholic Church’s 2025 conclave, and the popular film of same name, by posting an AI image of himself as the Pope.
他还利用了围绕天主教会2025年大会（conclave）的关注度，以及同名热门电影的关注度，发布了一张自己作为教宗的AI图片。
By using the shared texts, cultural energy and narratives of pop culture, Trump is able to slam his opponents, take advantage of a polarised political context, and whip up support from his base.
通过使用流行文化共享的文本、文化能量和叙事，特朗普能够抨击他的对手，利用两极分化的政治环境，并煽动其支持者群体的支持。
These moments allow his administration to shape public conversation and draw attention back to them, sometimes with the explicit disapproval of the content creators involved. Responding to Trump’s Star Wars post, Mark Hamill (the actor who played Luke Skywalker) said the post was : “proof this guy is full of Sith”.
这些时刻使得他的政府能够塑造公众对话，并将注意力重新吸引到自己身上，有时甚至是以内容创作者明确反对的方式。作为回应特朗普的《星球大战》帖子，马克·哈米尔（饰演卢克·天行者）表示，该帖子是：“证明这家伙充满了西斯”。
Bigger than Jesus?
比耶稣还伟大？
Trump’s supporters have historically viewed his engagement with popular culture as humorous, cheering on their hero in the White House. But detractors sense a darker side. Each of these moments symbolically elevates the Trump administration, often at the expense of others.
特朗普的支持者历史上曾将他与流行文化的互动视为一种幽默，在白宫为他们的英雄欢呼。但批评者却嗅到了一丝阴影。这些时刻都象征性地抬高了特朗普政府，而往往是以牺牲其他事物为代价的。
The May 4 post is a case in point. The target here is the “radical Left” and Trump is raised to the rank of Jedi master (or Sith Lord). In the Top Gun video, Trump demonstrates his disdain for citizens exercising their democratic right to protest.
五月四日的帖子就是一个例证。这里的目标是“激进左翼”，而特朗普则被提升到了绝地大师（或堕落的西斯领主）的地位。在《壮志凌云》的视频中，特朗普展示了他对公民行使民主抗议权利的不屑。
What connects these examples is the hubris of the administration, centred around its seemingly charismatic leader. Trump’s engagement with contemporary culture has shifted from relatively harmless cameos to putting himself at the centre of a Manichaean battle of good versus evil. Using both pop culture and religious references, he frames himself as a divine figure, fighting a cosmic war for the soul of the universe.
连接这些例子的是政府的傲慢，其核心围绕着其看似富有魅力的领导人。特朗普与当代文化的互动，已经从相对无害的客串，演变成了将自己置于一场善恶的二元对立的中心。他利用流行文化和宗教典故，将自己塑造成一个神圣的形象，仿佛正在为宇宙的灵魂进行一场宇宙战争。
The most recent (and most on-the-nose example) of Trump’s hubris came earlier this month. As part of his continuing war of words with Pope Leo XIV, he posted an AI photo depicting himself as Jesus.
特朗普傲慢的最新的（也是最直白的）例子发生在本月早些时候。作为他与教宗利奥十四世持续的言语战争的一部分，他发布了一张描绘自己为耶稣的AI照片。
Here, he elevates himself beyond the union of ecclesiastical and political power to the highest possible authority figure in Christianity.
在这里，他将自己提升到了超越教会和政治权力结合的层面，达到了基督教中最高可能的权威人物。
In doing so, he parallels the Ancient Roman emperors who conceived of themselves as “sons of God” and demanded allegiance and worship from their subjects (often at the tip of a blade ).
通过这样做，他让人联想到古罗马皇帝，他们将自己视为“上帝之子”，并要求臣民效忠和崇拜（往往是在刀尖上）。
The emperor cult of the Roman Empire is still very much alive in Trump’s America.
罗马帝国的皇帝崇拜在特朗普的美国仍然非常活跃。
In these entanglements of pop culture, religion and politics, the MAGA movement sends a clear message to anyone with a ear to listen: this is our Master Jedi, our Maverick, our Messiah, even, and he will respond with “great vengeance and furious anger” against his enemies.
在流行文化、宗教和政治的这些纠葛中，MAGA运动向任何愿意倾听的人发出了一个明确的信息：这是我们的大师绝地，我们的异类，我们的弥赛亚，甚至，他将以“巨大的复仇和狂怒”来回应他的敌人。
Brent Keogh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
布伦特·基奥（Brent Keogh）不为任何可能从本文中受益的公司或组织工作、提供咨询、持有股份或接受资金，并且除了其学术任命外，没有披露任何相关的从属关系。
