美国国家公共电台 NPR--Biden is turning the tables on Republicans by calling them 'soft on crime'

Biden is turning the tables on Republicans by calling them 'soft on crime'

Transcript¹

President Biden is trying to use his support for gun safety measures to counter Republican midterm election messaging that Democrats² are soft on crime.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

President Biden traveled to Pennsylvania yesterday, where he spoke³ passionately⁴ about getting assault-style weapons off of America's streets. And he didn't only talk about his efforts to address gun violence.

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PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Let me say this to my MAGA Republican friends in Congress. Don't tell me you support law enforcement if you won't condemn⁵ what happened on the sixth.

FADEL: In a crucial state in the midterm elections, Biden is trying to turn the tables on Republicans, painting them as extremists who are soft on crime. NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordo?ez has more.

FRANCO ORDO?EZ, BYLINE⁶: Early in his speech, when talking about gun safety, President Biden turned toward the officers in the crowd and lamented⁷ about the demands put on law enforcement.

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BIDEN: When it comes to public safety in this nation, the answer is not defund the police. It's fund the police.

ORDO?EZ: It was a forceful message in support of law enforcement, an area that has been a political vulnerability for Biden. Republicans have long held an advantage over Biden on the issue of crime, but Biden is trying to flip⁸ the script on Republicans for excusing political violence.

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BIDEN: You can't be a party of law and order and call the people who attacked the police on January 6 patriots⁹.

ORDO?EZ: He dug deeper into the message, calling it sickening to hear about the threats made against the FBI after the search for classified documents in former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago home.

BEN TULCHIN: Six months ago, you would not have seen this happen.

ORDO?EZ: That's Ben Tulchin, a Democratic strategist. He says Biden is able to paint defund-the-FBI Republicans as extremists in a way that Republicans painted the defund-the-police advocates.

TULCHIN: Republicans, by overreaching, have really hurt themselves on an issue that, you know, up until recently, has been an issue they've had an advantage on.

ORDO?EZ: Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel criticized the president's visit, saying his agenda has left Pennsylvania communities less safe. But Cornell Belcher, a Democratic pollster, says all the White House has to do is point to the words and deeds of Republicans to gain an edge.

CORNELL BELCHER: We actually have Republicans - congressional Republicans - on record talking about defunding the FBI. The ad makes itself.

ORDO?EZ: And he says the White House is smart to use its bully¹⁰ pulpit to make that case.

Franco Ordo?ez, NPR News.

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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 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》

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 passionately   

ad.热烈地，激烈地

参考例句：

• She could hate as passionately as she could love. 她能恨得咬牙切齿，也能爱得一往情深。
• He was passionately addicted to pop music. 他酷爱流行音乐。

5 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

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 lamented   

adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• her late lamented husband 她那令人怀念的已故的丈夫
• We lamented over our bad luck. 我们为自己的不幸而悲伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

9 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

10 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。