美国国家公共电台 NPR--Biden assesses midterm results — even as some key races remain undecided

Biden assesses midterm results — even as some key races remain undecided

Transcript¹

In his first formal news conference since January, President Biden laid out his legislative² agenda for the next two years and teased a 2024 reelection run.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Republicans may yet take charge of one or both houses of Congress. But to President Biden, the relatively³ small change amounts to a vindication⁴.

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PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: This was supposed to be a red wave. You guys - you were talking about us losing 30 to 50 seats, and this was going to - we're nowhere near - that's not going to happen.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Some analysts⁵ did foresee huge Republican gains on Tuesday, although our colleagues at NPR talked of a range of possibilities. The mixed results leave Biden's White House with a better chance of governing and Biden's party with a better chance of gaining ground again in 2024.

FADEL: We're joined now by NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith. Thanks for being here, Tam.

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE⁶: Yep. Good morning.

FADEL: Good morning. So there are still a number of races that haven't been called, but it looks quite possible President Biden will spend his final two years in office with at least a GOP-controlled House of Representatives. What did he say about how he's going to approach the next two years?

KEITH: He said that the message he took from the election was that the American people want him to work together with Congress. And to that end, he plans to invite leaders over to the White House later this month. But I have to say, he was also unapologetic. Asked what he would change about his approach, Biden said this.

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BIDEN: I'm not going to change anything in any fundamental way.

KEITH: He said many of the policies Democrats⁷ in Congress passed in recent months that they'd been campaigning on haven't had a chance to take effect yet. And he said he would defend that legislation against any efforts to roll it back by exercising his veto pen if it gets to that point. And he said he would also be open to working with Republicans. But I have to say that sounded like just Biden being on brand rather than actually predicting a great period of bipartisan productivity. He also wished Republicans luck if they plan to spend the next two years doing investigations⁸ - either of his son Hunter or more serious policy pursuits like the withdrawal⁹ from Afghanistan, and certainly if they were to try to pursue impeachment¹⁰.

FADEL: OK, so this idea of bipartisanship - I mean, not the norm these days, right, Tam? So how is he going to get anything done in the next two years?

KEITH: There were a couple of bipartisan successes in the last couple of years.

FADEL: Yeah.

KEITH: If Democrats are able to hang on to the Senate, then Biden would at least be able to keep getting judges confirmed, which is something he has already done at a record clip. With narrow margins¹¹, Democrats in the last couple of years already had Biden scaling back his ambitions, and he had to do some things through executive actions, like student loan forgiveness, which is getting hung up in court as often happens with executive actions. So you could expect to see more of that. Republicans, if they do win majorities, will have very narrow ones and will likely face their own internal battles. There are just a few things that truly have to get done, like funding the government.

FADEL: Right.

KEITH: And Biden, in his press conference yesterday, predicted that those ultimately will be bipartisan efforts. They kind of have to be.

FADEL: OK, so the big question after a midterm is whether the president plans to run for reelection. So how did Biden answer this time?

KEITH: Well, he answered it in a couple of different ways. He reiterated¹² that he does plan to run and that the midterms didn't affect that. He was asked about the possible rivals of Donald Trump¹³ or Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KRISTEN WELKER: Who do you think would be the tougher competitor, Ron DeSantis or former President Trump? And how is that factoring into your decision?

BIDEN: It'll be fun watching them take on each other.

FADEL: Is there anything else that stood out from this press conference?

KEITH: Yeah, that's the thing about press conferences, is reporters can ask about all different kinds of topics.

FADEL: Right.

KEITH: And one asked about Elon Musk¹⁴ and whether he is a threat to national security, especially with his acquisition of Twitter, with funding some of it from foreign governments, including Saudi Arabia. And Biden chose his words very carefully. He said that he thinks Elon Musk's cooperation and/or technology relationships with other countries is, quote, "worth being looked at," whether or not he's doing anything inappropriate, Biden added. And he's not suggesting that, he said, but that it is worth looking at it.

FADEL: NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith, thank you so much.

KEITH: You're welcome.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

3 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

4 vindication   

n.洗冤，证实

参考例句：

• There is much to be said in vindication of his claim.有很多理由可以提出来为他的要求作辩护。
• The result was a vindication of all our efforts.这一结果表明我们的一切努力是必要的。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

9 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

10 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

11 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

12 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

13 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

14 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。