Biden discusses stalled domestic agenda and other issues during news conference

 

Biden discusses stalled domestic agenda and other issues during news conference

Transcript¹

President Biden's executive style is informed by his decades in the world's most deliberative body. Allies say this approach has shown its limits in Biden's first year as president.

DEBBIE ELLIOTT, HOST:

In a news conference yesterday, a year into his administration, President Biden talked about his stalled domestic agenda, a standoff with Russia over Ukraine and his leadership style. The president took questions for nearly two hours. NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson was one of the reporters at the White House asking questions of Biden. And she joins us this morning. Hey, Mara.

MARA LIASSON, BYLINE²: Hi, Debbie.

ELLIOTT: It had been many months since President Biden had held a formal news conference like this. And these are often occasions in which a president attempts a reset³. Is that what we were watching yesterday?

LIASSON: Yes. That's what we were watching. He certainly came to this news conference in need of a reset. His approval ratings are low. His domestic agenda - at least two big parts of it - are stuck in Congress. And when he was asked about that, he mentioned three things that he wanted to change in his second year in office. He said he wants to get out of Washington more often, take the show on the road, interact with ordinary Americans. That kind of sounded like the standard, my only problem is that I need to communicate better. But in this case, many Democrats⁴ feel that that has been a problem. Voters don't know what he's passed or tried to pass. The second thing he said he'd do is get more advice from outsiders, bring in people to the White House with fresh voices, fresh perspectives. He said he didn't want to fire anyone. He said he was happy with his team. He just wants to add some new voices. And then the third thing was become deeply involved in the upcoming midterms. He also discussed his leadership style, you know? Biden was a senator for more than three decades. And his style has in many ways been similar to that of a Senate leader. Here's what he said.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: One of the things that I do think that has been made clear to me, speaking of polling, is the public doesn't want me to be the president-senator. They want me to be the president and let senators be senators.

LIASSON: He went on to say, if I made a mistake, it's because I'm used to negotiating to get things done. And I've been relatively⁶ successful at that when I was in the Senate and as vice⁵ president. But, he said, I think that the role as president is a different role. And this really echoes complaints from Democrats who say that Biden needs to be more aggressive, more proactive, more of an executive and less of a kind of deferential⁷, one among equals with senators.

ELLIOTT: Let's talk about some of the issues he's having with the Senate because voting rights went down to defeat last night. What happened?

LIASSON: The outcome was preordained there. The Senate failed to muster⁸ the 60 votes necessary to end debate on the voting rights bills because Republicans were filibustering¹⁰ those measures. Then Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer moved to try to change the filibuster⁹ rules just for the voting rights measure so that a simple majority could pass it. But that also fell short because, as we expected, two Democrats - Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona - both opposed changing the rules.

But Biden, in his press conference, said he did think there could be room for reform of the Electoral Count Act. That's something that a handful of Republicans have expressed openness to that would basically clarify the vice president's role in the counting of electoral votes, for instance, in an attempt to prevent another January 6. Remember, what Trump¹¹ wanted Vice President Pence to do was somehow reject the slates¹² of electors that gave Biden the White House.

ELLIOTT: Biden also talked about another big part of his agenda, his domestic spending and policy bill - the so-called Build Back Better Act. What did he say about that?

LIASSON: Well, he made some news there. The Build Back Better Act has also been stuck because of opposition¹³ from Democratic Senator Joe Manchin. Biden acknowledged that it doesn't have the support as written, so it will have to be broken up. Here's what he said.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BIDEN: I'm confident we can get pieces, big chunks¹⁴ of the Build Back Better law signed into law.

LIASSON: So what he's saying is, pretty much, whatever Manchin wants, that's what he'll try to pass. But he did say that there is general agreement with Manchin on several big, important provisions, including climate, including free preschool. But he also made clear that he probably wasn't going to get two really big priorities of his. One is the child tax credit. And the other is free community college. And it sounds like the White House is confident that at this point, Democrats, even progressive Democrats, in the House are ready to pass something, even something much smaller than they wanted, rather than nothing.

ELLIOTT: Let's talk as well about foreign policy. Certainly hanging over President Biden is Russia's increasingly hostile posture¹⁵ toward Ukraine. What did he say about that?

LIASSON: Right. This caused a lot of controversy¹⁶ yesterday. He said he expected Vladimir Putin to do something, to take an aggressive step in Ukraine. But he also said this.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BIDEN: Russia will be held accountable if it invades. And it depends on what it does. It's one thing if it's a minor¹⁷ incursion, and then we end up having to fight about what to do and not do, et cetera.

LIASSON: So sounded like he was giving a green light to Putin to do something less than a big invasion. But later, the White House clarified that any military move across the border would be met with a swift response. Anything short of that would be met with a reciprocal response.

ELLIOTT: NPR's Mara Liasson. Thanks so much.

LIASSON: You're welcome.

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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 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。

4 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》

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 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。

7 deferential   

adj. 敬意的，恭敬的

参考例句：

• They like five-star hotels and deferential treatment.他们喜欢五星级的宾馆和毕恭毕敬的接待。
• I am deferential and respectful in the presence of artists.我一向恭敬、尊重艺术家。

8 muster   

v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册

参考例句：

• Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。
• I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。

9 filibuster   

n.妨碍议事，阻挠；v.阻挠

参考例句：

• A senator dragged the subject in as a filibuster.一个参议员硬把这个题目拉扯进来，作为一种阻碍议事的手法。
• The democrats organized a filibuster in the senate.民主党党员在参议院上组织了阻挠议事。

10 filibustering   

v.阻碍或延宕国会或其他立法机构通过提案( filibuster的现在分词 )；掠夺

参考例句：

11 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。

12 slates   

（旧时学生用以写字的）石板( slate的名词复数 )； 板岩； 石板瓦； 石板色

参考例句：

• The contract specifies red tiles, not slates, for the roof. 合同规定屋顶用红瓦，并非石板瓦。
• They roofed the house with slates. 他们用石板瓦做屋顶。

13 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

14 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？

15 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

16 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

17 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。