美国国家公共电台 NPR--Biden says his own age doesn't register with him as he seeks second term

Biden says his own age doesn't register with him as he seeks second term

Transcript¹

President Biden said that his own age doesn't register with him, despite recent polling that shows Americans have concern over the president's age as he runs for a second term.

At a press conference with the South Korean president on Wednesday, Biden fielded questions from reporters about concerns from voters.

"With regard to age, I can't even say I guess how old I am, I can't even say the number. It doesn't register with me," Biden said on his age, adding that people are going to watch the campaign and judge for themselves.

"I respect them taking a hard look at it — I'd take a hard look at it, as well. I took a hard look at it before I decided² to run, and I feel good. I feel excited about the prospects," he said.

An NBC poll released this weekend found that 70% of Americans don't want Biden to run for reelection, with half of those citing age as a major factor.

Biden was 29 when he was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972, becoming the fifth youngest person to do so. Decades later, at age 78, he became the oldest living president the day he was sworn into office. If elected to a second term, he would be 86 by the end of it.

The president said the same polling data that shows concern for his age also shows support for what he's done in office.

"When the same polling data asks what kind of job I've done, it gets overwhelmingly positive results," Biden said at a press conference Wednesday.

The data from the NBC poll shows 41% of adults polled approve of Biden's job performance and 54% disapprove³, which is down from January. Biden seemed to separate that from approval of particular legislative⁴ accomplishments⁵, including creating manufacturing jobs and climate investments.

Biden works out five days a week and received a clean bill of health at his annual physical earlier this year, with his physician concluding that he "remains⁶ fit for duty, and fully⁷ executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions⁸ or accommodations."

That doesn't mean that his age won't be an issue on the campaign trail.

In fact, his age as a factor is "indisputable," says David Axelrod, chief strategist for President Obama's campaigns and senior political commentator⁹ for CNN.

"When you look at polling, when you watch focus groups, it's the thing that people bring up first," he says. "We are in uncharted waters, we've never had a president this old."

Still, Axelrod says, there are "upsides" to Biden's age: wisdom, experience and perspective.

"And at a time when there's so much churn and turmoil¹⁰, those three qualities are assets for him," he told Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep.

Cristina Tzinzún Ramirez, president of the progressive nonprofit NextGen America, says what is most important to young voters is progressive policy change — not age.

"Young voters in the last few elections have turned out in historic numbers. Young people overwhelmingly in 2020, during the Democratic primary, supported the oldest candidate in the race, Bernie Sanders. And then they turned out in overwhelming numbers to vote for Joe Biden."

Ramirez says she thinks young people will turn out again, because Joe Biden has delivered on specific issues they care about: gun reform, climate change legislation, marijuana reform and student debt cancellation¹¹. "Ultimately, that's what people are going to measure him by," she said.

Biden's defense¹²: "Watch me"

Questions about Biden's age are nothing new. His opponents used it against him when he ran in 2020, and have continued pointing to his on-camera stumbles to insinuate¹³ he is suffering from cognitive¹⁴ issues (a line of attack that often backfires, as NPR has reported).

When asked about Biden's age in a recent White House press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said "It's the same thing that we heard in 2020. Right? If you look at what the President has done this past two years, he's been able to deliver and get things done."

Axelrod argues that Biden's approach — particularly when it comes to things like being less reactive on social media — is part of why voters elected him in the first place, and that those qualities were what people wanted after the tenure¹⁵ of former President Donald Trump¹⁶.

Biden's approach is basically "watch me," Axelrod points out, using the phrase the president himself has used.

Axelrod describes being president as "the hardest job on the planet," because of the endless hours and weighty decisions. He says Biden's staff would point to some of his high points as proof he can do it, such as his February State of the Union address, in which he made a pitch to "finish the job."

"He stood on his feet for an hour, he engaged his hecklers and he was triumphant," Axelrod says. "And that's what they're going to say is 'just watch him.'"

But that won't necessarily be enough, says Axelrod, advising Biden to address his age openly, both the "obvious risks" and the advantages.

"He often says 'don't judge me versus¹⁷ the almighty¹⁸, judge me versus the alternative,'" he adds. "And I think that's what they're counting on now, his strategists — that this isn't going to be a referendum on Joe Biden, this is going to be a choice. And the choice very well may be the same choice we faced four years ago."

Trump isn't a young man either

Trump, the current frontrunner in the Republican primary field, is only four years younger than Biden. He will be 77 in June.

A rematch between the two is looking likely, with a recent NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll finding that two-thirds of Republicans would still vote for Trump even if he is found guilty of a crime.

His age could be a concern for voters too, Axelrod says, noting that former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley is making "generational change a fundamental aspect of her campaign."

In her kickoff speech, Haley called for "mandatory¹⁹ mental competency tests" for candidates over the age of 75.

Axelrod believes others will make a similar argument about Trump's age, "because you can't really exploit this vulnerability as well in Biden if you run a candidate who's basically the same age."

And if either party ends up with a younger candidate, can they make the argument that it's time to move on from the politics of the past?

"They can make that argument and I think it will land with some voters," Axelrod says. "And they'll choose between that and those qualities I mentioned before: wisdom, experience and perspective."

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 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

4 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。

5 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 exemptions   

n.（义务等的）免除( exemption的名词复数 )；免（税）；（收入中的）免税额

参考例句：

• The exemptions for interpretive rules, policy statements, and procedural rules have just been discussed. 有关解释性规则、政策说明和程序规则的免责我们刚刚讨论过。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• A: The regulation outlines specific exemptions for some WPM. 答：该规定概述了某些木质包装材料的特定的例外情形。 来自互联网

9 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

10 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

11 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

12 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

13 insinuate   

vt.含沙射影地说，暗示

参考例句：

• He tried to insinuate himself into the boss's favor.他设法巧妙地渐渐取得老板的欢心。
• It seems to me you insinuate things about her.我觉得你讲起她来，总有些弦外之音。

14 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

15 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

16 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。

17 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

18 almighty   

adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的

参考例句：

• Those rebels did not really challenge Gods almighty power.这些叛徒没有对上帝的全能力量表示怀疑。
• It's almighty cold outside.外面冷得要命。

19 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。