我一直公開表示，唐納德·特朗普對(duì)美國(guó)來(lái)說(shuō)是個(gè)威脅。2016年民主黨全國(guó)大會(huì)上我就說(shuō)過(guò)：“紐約人一眼就能看穿騙局?！比ツ昵锾熘衅谶x舉時(shí)，我出資1億多美元支持民主黨。在國(guó)會(huì)里，共和黨人很失敗，而且一錯(cuò)再錯(cuò)，未能履行憲法賦予總統(tǒng)的責(zé)任。而且共和黨一直縱容特朗普胡作非為，在最緊急的問(wèn)題上拒絕與民主黨合作。

當(dāng)務(wù)之急是提名一位最有機(jī)會(huì)擊敗特朗普的民主黨人，把美國(guó)重新團(tuán)結(jié)起來(lái)。初選過(guò)程不可內(nèi)耗過(guò)大，否則將削弱贏得大選的機(jī)會(huì)，最后變成“又得熬四年”。

許多人勸我競(jìng)選。有人告訴我，要想獲得民主黨內(nèi)提名，要改變觀點(diǎn)迎合民意測(cè)驗(yàn)。但我整個(gè)政治生涯中都有人這么說(shuō)。

我競(jìng)選過(guò)三次，每次都獲得了勝利，很大程度上因?yàn)槲覐膩?lái)沒根據(jù)輿論風(fēng)向決定政治觀點(diǎn)。我性格如此，也認(rèn)為選民也不會(huì)選喜歡跟風(fēng)的領(lǐng)袖。人們希望領(lǐng)袖能說(shuō)實(shí)話，即便意見不一致，也能提出實(shí)際、明智且雄心勃勃的想法，真正解決問(wèn)題見成效。

我來(lái)自商界，在私營(yíng)部門和政府部門都工作過(guò)。解決難題是我平生最熱愛的事。我的技能是建立和領(lǐng)導(dǎo)團(tuán)隊(duì)，制定創(chuàng)新計(jì)劃，然后共同實(shí)施。我認(rèn)為這正是身為國(guó)家總統(tǒng)應(yīng)該做的事，尤其是經(jīng)歷了四年的混亂顛倒和欺騙之后。

我知道競(jìng)選獲勝需要什么，每天讀新聞時(shí)我都對(duì)總統(tǒng)辦公室的無(wú)能越來(lái)越沮喪。我很清楚我們國(guó)家可以做得更好，也相信可以在大選中擊敗特朗普。但我清楚地認(rèn)識(shí)到，在面臨諸多競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的情況下，想獲得民主黨提名非常困難。

我在思想上還有另一個(gè)沉重負(fù)擔(dān)，即未來(lái)兩年內(nèi)美國(guó)面臨最大的問(wèn)題可能惡化。由于白宮領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人拒絕聯(lián)合兩黨力量，國(guó)會(huì)幾乎不可能解決面臨的主要挑戰(zhàn)，包括氣候變化、槍支暴力、阿片類藥物濫用危機(jī)、公立學(xué)校倒閉和大學(xué)學(xué)費(fèi)高昂等。種種問(wèn)題都可能逐步惡化，總統(tǒng)的許多行為只會(huì)讓事情更復(fù)雜。

我深愛自己的國(guó)家，不能袖手旁觀，在國(guó)家問(wèn)題惡化時(shí)不能只是希望一切變好。但我也意識(shí)到，到2021年甚至更長(zhǎng)時(shí)間里，推動(dòng)進(jìn)步真正的希望都不能靠聯(lián)邦政府。與大多數(shù)已經(jīng)參與或考慮競(jìng)選的人們不同，我的幸運(yùn)之處在于有能力投入資源將人們聚集在一起，共同推動(dòng)巨大的改變。

離開公職以來(lái)，我已經(jīng)創(chuàng)建并支持了一些倡議，努力號(hào)召公民和城市、州、企業(yè)和非營(yíng)利組織領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人自行采取行動(dòng)。像我一樣，大多數(shù)的美國(guó)人希望改善社區(qū)，真正做一些事情。我們一起證明，即使沒有聯(lián)邦政府幫助，同樣可能完成。

接下來(lái)的兩年里，我們可以完成更多的工作，但前提是繼續(xù)努力并不斷擴(kuò)展。事實(shí)是：參與全國(guó)性的大選活動(dòng)反而會(huì)限制我的能力。

因此，我考慮參與總統(tǒng)競(jìng)選時(shí)，面前的選擇已經(jīng)很清晰。如果明知道可能不會(huì)獲得民主黨提名，接下來(lái)兩年里應(yīng)不應(yīng)該大力宣講我的想法，介紹執(zhí)政經(jīng)歷？還是應(yīng)該在接下來(lái)兩年加倍投入到已經(jīng)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)和資助的工作上，而且很明顯這些工作現(xiàn)在就能為國(guó)家?guī)?lái)真正有益的結(jié)果？

我逐漸意識(shí)到，比起夸夸其談我更喜歡實(shí)際做事。結(jié)論是，目前幫助國(guó)家最好的辦法就是卷起袖子繼續(xù)工作。

介紹下我做的工作。2011年，在國(guó)會(huì)的總量控制與交易立法失敗后，我與塞拉俱樂部合作開展了一項(xiàng)名為“超越煤炭”的運(yùn)動(dòng)。通過(guò)組織動(dòng)員受燃煤電廠污染影響的社區(qū)，幫助關(guān)閉了全國(guó)一半以上的電廠（530個(gè)電廠中的285個(gè)），取而代之的是更潔凈也更便宜的能源。這是美國(guó)將碳足跡減少11%的最大原因之一，而且將燃煤發(fā)電廠導(dǎo)致的死亡人數(shù)從13000人減少到3000人。

現(xiàn)在是重要的下一步。首先，我將增加對(duì)“超越煤炭”運(yùn)動(dòng)的支持，爭(zhēng)取在未來(lái)11年實(shí)現(xiàn)所有燃煤發(fā)電廠關(guān)閉。這不是白日夢(mèng)。我們可以做到。第二，我將把運(yùn)動(dòng)推向全新也更雄心勃勃的階段，即超越碳排放。通過(guò)民間努力推動(dòng)美國(guó)盡快擺脫石油和天然氣，邁向100%的清潔能源經(jīng)濟(jì)。

超越碳的核心是認(rèn)為進(jìn)展中每一年都很重要，科學(xué)界也已經(jīng)明確指出。十年前由專欄作家湯姆·弗里德曼首次提出綠色新政，未來(lái)兩年參議院不可能通過(guò)。但是大自然不會(huì)等待人類的政治日程，人類也同樣等不起。

槍支暴力方面也差不多。近25年來(lái)，國(guó)會(huì)還沒通過(guò)重要的槍支安全法案。上周，民主黨眾議院投票通過(guò)了加強(qiáng)背景審查的法案，但共和黨參議院肯定會(huì)阻止該法案通過(guò)。由于多年來(lái)組織動(dòng)員的基層努力，20個(gè)州通過(guò)了更強(qiáng)力的背景調(diào)查法案或其他法律，防止槍支落入危險(xiǎn)人群手中。但20個(gè)州遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不夠，考慮到面臨的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，現(xiàn)在不能停止。

槍支暴力和氣候變化還只是諸多緊迫挑戰(zhàn)的一部分，即便聯(lián)盟政府繼續(xù)無(wú)視已經(jīng)過(guò)證明的解決方案，我們?nèi)匀灰Λ@得進(jìn)展。

我們知道如何改善公立學(xué)校，大力減少種族成就的差距。紐約市的做法是，提高標(biāo)準(zhǔn)、增加問(wèn)責(zé)制、給孩子提供在當(dāng)今以知識(shí)和技術(shù)為基礎(chǔ)的經(jīng)濟(jì)中成長(zhǎng)所需的教育。

我們知道如何增加低收入學(xué)生上大學(xué)的機(jī)會(huì)。這也是基金會(huì)努力的目標(biāo)，現(xiàn)在主要與學(xué)院合作，給予經(jīng)濟(jì)援助和招聘機(jī)會(huì)，也為高中生申請(qǐng)?zhí)峁﹨f(xié)助。

我們知道如何應(yīng)付阿片類藥物成癮現(xiàn)象，提升醫(yī)療質(zhì)量和就醫(yī)機(jī)會(huì)，減少無(wú)家可歸者數(shù)量。紐約市人均預(yù)期壽命延長(zhǎng)了三年，我正在努力幫助其他城市達(dá)到類似目標(biāo)。

我們培養(yǎng)公民領(lǐng)袖，扶持他們從事的創(chuàng)新工作，從底層做起解決國(guó)家面臨的挑戰(zhàn)。這是基金會(huì)工作的重點(diǎn)，也是解決當(dāng)前最嚴(yán)峻挑戰(zhàn)的答案所在。

我們知道，為了保護(hù)民主，就要組織起來(lái)保護(hù)每位公民的投票權(quán)。

在很多問(wèn)題上，未來(lái)兩年內(nèi)聯(lián)邦政府不太可能采取有效行動(dòng)。進(jìn)步完全取決于我們。

在未來(lái)幾周和幾個(gè)月里，我將通過(guò)具體的行動(dòng)和成果，更深入地研究如何扭轉(zhuǎn)國(guó)家的局面。我將繼續(xù)支持能在氣候變化、槍支暴力、教育、衛(wèi)生、投票權(quán)和其他關(guān)鍵問(wèn)題上發(fā)揮領(lǐng)導(dǎo)作用的候選人，并繼續(xù)為實(shí)現(xiàn)承諾而努力。

希望敦促我競(jìng)選并幫他們呼吁價(jià)值觀和原則人們能理解，左右我決定的其實(shí)是一個(gè)問(wèn)題：我怎樣才能更好地為國(guó)家服務(wù)？

雖然沒有比擔(dān)任總統(tǒng)更高的榮譽(yù)，但作為美國(guó)公民，現(xiàn)在我最大的義務(wù)是盡我所能幫助國(guó)家。

（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

前紐約市市長(zhǎng)邁克爾·布隆伯格是彭博新聞社的母公司彭博有限公司的創(chuàng)始人和大股東。他也是聯(lián)合國(guó)秘書長(zhǎng)氣候行動(dòng)特使。

譯者：Charlie

審校：夏林

I’ve never made any secret of my belief that Donald Trump is a threat to our country. At the 2016 Democratic National Convention, I said: “New Yorkers know a con when we see one.” Last fall I spent more than $100 million supporting Democrats in the midterm elections. Republicans in Congress had failed—and are still failing—to fulfill their constitutional duty to hold the president accountable. Instead, they indulge his worst impulses and refuse to work with Democrats on the most urgent issues.

It’s essential that we nominate a Democrat who will be in the strongest position to defeat Donald Trump and bring our country back together. We cannot allow the primary process to drag the party to an extreme that would diminish our chances in the general election and translate into “Four More Years.”

Many people have urged me to run. Some have told me that to win the Democratic nomination, I would need to change my views to match the polls. But I’ve been hearing that my whole political career.

I’ve run for office three times and won each time, in no small part because I’ve never stuck my finger in the wind to decide what I should believe. It’s not who I am, nor do I think it’s what voters want in a leader. They want someone who levels with them, even when they disagree, and who is capable of offering practical, sensible, and ambitious ideas—and of solving problems and delivering results.

I come out of the business world. I’ve had executive jobs in both the private sector and government. Finding solutions to tough problems is my life’s passion. My skills are in building and leading teams that draw up innovative plans and then work together to implement them. I think this is exactly what our country needs in a president, especially after what will be four years of chaos, disruption, and deceit.

I know what it takes to run a winning campaign, and every day when I read the news, I grow more frustrated by the incompetence in the Oval Office. I know we can do better as a country. And I believe I would defeat Donald Trump in a general election. But I am clear-eyed about the difficulty of winning the Democratic nomination in such a crowded field.

There is another factor that has weighed heavily on my mind: the likelihood that our biggest national problems will worsen over the next two years. With a leader in the White House who refuses to bring the parties together, it will be nearly impossible for Congress to address the major challenges we face, including climate change, gun violence, the opioid crisis, failing public schools, and college affordability. All are likely to grow more severe, and many of the president’s executive actions will only compound matters.

I love our country too much to sit back and hope for the best as national problems get worse. But I also recognize that until 2021, and possibly longer, our only real hope for progress lies outside of Washington. And unlike most who are running or thinking of it, I’m fortunate enough to be in a position to devote the resources needed to bring people together and make a big difference.

Since leaving public office, I’ve created and supported initiatives that are rallying citizens and leaders of cities, states, businesses, and nonprofit organizations to take action on their own. Like me, most Americans want to improve their communities and get things done. Together, we’ve shown that’s possible even without help from Washington.

I know there’s much more we can accomplish over the next two years, but only if we stay focused on the work and expand upon it. And the fact is: A national presidential campaign would limit my ability to do that.

So as I’ve thought about a possible presidential campaign, the choice before me has become clear. Should I devote the next two years to talking about my ideas and record, knowing that I might never win the Democratic nomination? Or should I spend the next two years doubling down on the work that I am already leading and funding, and that I know can produce real and beneficial results for the country, right now?

I’ve come to realize that I’m less interested in talking than doing. And I have concluded that, for now, the best way for me to help our country is by rolling up my sleeves and continuing to get work done.

Here’s one way I’ll do that. In 2011, following the failure of cap and trade legislation in Congress, I teamed up with the Sierra Club on a campaign called Beyond Coal. By organizing and mobilizing communities affected by the harmful pollution of coal-fired power plants, we have helped close more than half the nation’s plants—285 out of 530 — and replaced them with cleaner and cheaper energy. That was the single biggest reason the U.S. has been able to reduce its carbon footprint by 11 percent — and cut deaths from coal power plants from 13,000 to 3,000.

Now, I will take the next big steps. First, I will expand my support for the Beyond Coal campaign so that we can retire every single coal-fired power plant over the next 11 years. That’s not a pipe dream. We can do it. And second, I will launch a new, even more ambitious phase of the campaign — Beyond Carbon: a grassroots effort to begin moving America as quickly as possible away from oil and gas and toward a 100 percent clean energy economy.

At the heart of Beyond Carbon is the conviction that, as the science has made clear, every year matters. The idea of a Green New Deal — first suggested by the columnist Tom Friedman more than a decade ago — stands no chance of passage in the Senate over the next two years. But Mother Nature does not wait on our political calendar, and neither can we.

The same applies to gun violence. Congress has not passed a major gun safety bill in nearly 25 years. Last week the Democratic House voted to approve a bill strengthening the background check system, but the Republican Senate is virtually guaranteed to block it. Nevertheless, thanks to strong grassroots efforts that we have spent years organizing and mobilizing, 20 states have passed stronger background check bills or adopted other laws that help keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. But 20 states is not enough, and we can’t stop now given the risks to our country.

Gun violence and climate change are not the only urgent challenges where we must make progress even as Washington continues to ignore proven solutions.

We know how to improve public schools and dramatically reduce the racial achievement gap. We did it in New York City, by raising standards, increasing accountability, and giving our children the education they need to thrive in today’s knowledge- and technology-based economy.

We know how to increase access to college for low-income students. My foundation is doing just that, by working with colleges to increase financial aid and recruitment, and giving high school students more support with the application process.

We know how to reduce opioid addiction; improve the quality of health care and access to it; and reduce homelessness on our streets. We extended life expectancy by three years in New York City, and I’m working to help other cities make similar progress.

We know how to strengthen local communities, by investing in civic leaders and the innovative work they are doing to tackle our nation’s challenges from the ground up. This is a central focus of my foundation’s work, and it is where answers to many of our toughest challenges lie.

And we know that to protect our democracy, we need to organize to protect every citizen’s right to vote.

On these and other issues, Washington is unlikely to take effective action over the next two years. Progress depends entirely on the rest of us.

In the weeks and months ahead, I will dive even deeper into the work of turning around our country, through concrete actions and results. And I will continue supporting candidates who can provide the leadership we need—on climate change, gun violence, education, health, voting rights, and other critical issues—and continue holding their feet to the fire to deliver what they promise.

I hope those who have urged me to run, and to stand up for the values and principles that they hold dear, will understand that my decision was guided by one question: How can I best serve the country?

While there would be no higher honor than serving as president, my highest obligation as a citizen is to help the country the best way I can, right now.

Michael R. Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News. He is the UN secretary-general’s special envoy for climate action.