美国国家公共电台 NPR--Biden says he'll discuss whether to run for president again over Thanksgiving dinner

Biden says he'll discuss whether to run for president again over Thanksgiving dinner

Transcript¹

President Biden is spending Thanksgiving with family in Nantucket. He has said he will talk with his family over the holidays about whether to act on his intention to run again in 2024.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Lots of families had some big conversations over the dinner table at Thanksgiving last night - some easy, some hard, some involving major life decisions, such as whether to run for a second term as president. We're joined now by NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith, who is reporting on President Biden's deliberations about whether to run for reelection in 2024.

Good morning, Tam. All right, so what do we know about where President Biden is in his decision process?

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE²: We know that Biden has said repeatedly that he does plan to run for reelection, but he has also said that he's a big believer in fate. And although he isn't explicit³ about this part, he did just turn 80 this past weekend, making him the first octogenarian president of the United States. Until Biden actually files the paperwork, the decision to run isn't really final. He said recently that he would be talking to his family about it.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: And my guess is it'd be early next year we make that judgment⁴.

KEITH: Anita Dunn, who is a longtime adviser⁵ to Biden and is also a top White House official, was asked about it at an event recently put on by the publication Axios.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ANITA DUNN: His decision to run in 2020 came after a family meeting that was actually, as he posed it, called by his grandchildren. Pop's got to have this conversation. The family is going to be deeply involved in whatever decision he reaches because that's who he is.

MART?NEZ: Now, we know the family's gathered this week. Are they in Nantucket making the decision as we speak?

KEITH: We have no idea.

MART?NEZ: Oh.

KEITH: As Biden's press secretary said repeatedly this week, these are private conversations. And even if a decision is made this week, or maybe it'll be over Christmas, it's not like a formal announcement would come immediately. I think back to when then-President Obama made his announcement. For the 2012 election, he didn't announce his reelection until around April of 2011. And that was even though there was really no question about whether he would run. In that Axios interview, Dunn said preparations are already underway, though.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DUNN: We are engaged in some planning for the simple reason that if we weren't engaged in planning in November of this year, we should be in the political malpractice hall of fame.

MART?NEZ: When Donald Trump⁶ announced that he was going to run in 2024, I think everyone did a collective look toward D.C. to see exactly what President Biden was planning on doing.

KEITH: Well, he has said that he doesn't feel any hurry one way or another, regardless of what Trump does. And Trump's announcement is very early by historical standards, if not by his own standards. And one factor that the White House must be weighing here - and Biden's advisers⁷ - is that there are a lot of polls that show Democrats⁹ are not that excited about him running again. When I was out interviewing voters last month, many of them brought up concerns about Biden's age, unprompted. They said that they like him, that he doesn't get the credit he deserves. And then I'd say, oh, well, then do you want him to run again? And there would often just be these painfully long pauses and a lot of ums and ahs.

But I have to say, it doesn't look like there's another Democrat⁸ waiting in the wings, ready to challenge him. Democrats did really well in the midterms, or, at least, it wasn't the red wave that many people were expecting. And that's boosted the White House's confidence about Biden's political fortunes. And since then, a long list of Democrats with thinly veiled political ambitions have come out and said that if Biden runs, they will support him. Now Biden just really has to answer the question of if he's going to run.

MART?NEZ: NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith.

Tamara, thanks.

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 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。

3 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

4 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

5 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

6 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。

7 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

8 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

9 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》