美国国家公共电台 NPR--Biden's State of the Union address focused on middle and working-class voters

Biden's State of the Union address focused on middle and working-class voters

Transcript¹

While President Biden was addressing Congress, his message was also for people watching at home — voters whose support he will need to secure a run for a second term.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

In his State of the Union address last night, President Biden repeated one simple refrain.

(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Let's finish the job.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

That line was aimed partly at a newly divided Congress where some of his agenda seems likely to stall. But it was also a message for people at home, voters whose support he would need to secure a second term.

FADEL: NPR White House correspondent Scott Detrow joins me now to discuss. Hi, Scott.

SCOTT DETROW, BYLINE²: Hey, good morning.

FADEL: So you've been listening to Joe Biden's speeches for years now. As he ran for office, and since he's been at the White House, that's been your job. What stood out to you about this speech?

DETROW: You know, I think having heard probably thousands of his speeches at this point, this was Biden-ism at its heart. It was a speech focused squarely on middle- and working-class voters, more moderate swing voters. Biden, at times, spoke³ directly to people like that, saying, I know you feel forgotten. I know you feel left behind. And throughout that first half-hour of the speech, he seemed to be trying over and over to give very easy, concrete examples of his administration's policies that are helping⁴ people - new bridges, cheaper insulin, better and faster internet, things like that. The whole thing seemed to me to be an appeal to moderate, politically disengaged, working- and middle-class voters - the exact type of voter the Democrats⁵ have been losing over the past decade but that he sees as the key to staving off Trumpism.

FADEL: So speaking to the American people but also Biden talking a lot about bipartisanship. And he took digs at Republicans, too, as he talked about this. What message was he trying to drive home there?

DETROW: Yeah. You know, ever since Republicans took back the House, he has repeatedly framed the party as split between two wings - one that he can work with to govern and the other a right-wing faction⁶. And he kept touting⁷, especially early on, Republican support for that infrastructure⁸ law, making a point to say about 300 laws he signed over the first two years had Republican support. But there was a little bit of a tone, too.

(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)

BIDEN: I want to thank my Republican friends who voted for the law and my Republican friends who voted against it as well. But I'm still - I still get asked to fund the projects in those districts as well. But don't worry. I promised I'd be a president for all Americans. We'll fund these projects, and I'll see you at the groundbreaking.

DETROW: And one key moment was when Biden highlighted a proposal from Florida Senator Rick Scott that he made last year to hold votes to renew Social Security and Medicare every five years. And Biden got a lot of boos and heckles from Republicans at that point.

(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)

BIDEN: Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset. I'm not saying it's the majority.

(BOOING)

BIDEN: Let me give you - anybody who doubts it, contact my office. I'll give you a copy. I'll give you a copy of the proposal.

DETROW: And, you know, Scott's not exactly a backbencher. He ran Republican Senate campaigns last year. But even as Republicans are demanding spending cuts right now, their leaders are insisting they don't want to cut those two programs. And Republicans heckled and yelled over and over and over to make that point.

FADEL: And the president seemed happy to engage.

DETROW: Oh, he seemed to love it. And he kept saying, look, we agree. He had ignored hecklers at other point. But here he kept returning to it, smiling as he did it. He clearly relished⁹ the opportunity to draw some policy contrast, but I think he also liked showing an audience that even as many Republicans imply he's senile, that he was going back and forth¹⁰ with hecklers, carrying out a high stakes, ad-libbed argument in real time in front of millions of viewers.

FADEL: A really big issue right now - police brutality¹¹ after the beating death of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols by Memphis police. How did Biden deal with that in his speech?

DETROW: Yeah. It was an emotional moment. Biden pointed¹² to Nichols' parents, who were sitting with first lady Jill Biden watching the speech. He talked about how many Black and brown families live with that fear of something similar happening. And Biden called once again for police reform, urging Congress to pass a measure.

(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)

BIDEN: It's up to us, to all of us. We all want the same thing - neighborhoods free of violence, law enforcement who earns the community's trust. Just as every cop, when they pin on that badge in the morning, has a right to be able to go home at night, so does everybody else out there.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: Our children have a right to come home safely.

DETROW: But it's worth pointing out, similar efforts stalled last Congress when Democrats had full control. Republicans opposed big chunks¹³ of this bill. It's hard to see it passing this Congress.

FADEL: So this speech, was it the start of a 2024 campaign?

DETROW: Almost certainly. The official announcement is probably not going to come for another few weeks, possibly months. But the text of this speech was clear. Biden is making the case for another term.

FADEL: NPR's Scott Detrow, thanks so much.

DETROW: Sure thing.

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 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 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》

6 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

7 touting   

v.兜售( tout的现在分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• He's been touting his novel around publishers for years. 他几年来一直到处找出版商兜售自己的小说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Technology industry leaders are touting cars as a hot area for growth. 科技产业领袖吹捧为增长热点地区的汽车。 来自互联网

8 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

9 relished   

v.欣赏( relish的过去式和过去分词 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望

参考例句：

• The chaplain relished the privacy and isolation of his verdant surroundings. 牧师十分欣赏他那苍翠的环境所具有的幽雅恬静，与世隔绝的气氛。 来自辞典例句
• Dalleson relished the first portion of the work before him. 达尔生对眼前这工作的前半部分满有兴趣。 来自辞典例句

10 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

11 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

12 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

13 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？