gave Barack Obama's family a tour of their new home, the White House.

給奧巴馬的家人参觀了他們的新家，白宮。

It was part of a long American tradition,

這是美國悠久傳統的一部分。

of the outgoing president's family meeting with the incoming family,

卸任總統家屬與新任家屬見面的。

just as the Clintons had done for the Bushes eight years before,

就像8年前克林頓夫婦為布什夫婦所做的那樣。

and the Bushes had done for the Clintons eight years before that.

而在這之前的8年裡，布什家族為克林頓家族所做的。

It's a symbolic start to the beginning of the presidential transition,

這是一個象徵性的開始，是總統過渡期的開始。

where the current president meets with the president-elect,

現任總統與當選總統會面的地方。

and, importantly, helps the new administration into their new positions,

並且，重要的是幫助新一屆政府進入新的崗位。

ensuring a smooth transfer of power.

確保動力的平穩傳遞。

"President Trump refuses to concede."

"特朗普總統拒絕讓步。"

"Refusing to begin the transition process."

"拒絕開始過渡進程。"

"Blocking President-elect Joe Biden from receiving critical Covid-19 data."

"阻止當選總統喬-拜登接收關鍵的Covid-19數據"

The presidential transition usually starts right after Election Day, in November,

總統交接通常在選舉日之後，也就是11月開始。

and it ends when the new president is inaugurated, in late January.

並在新總統就職時結束，在一月下旬。

But this year, President Trump didn't allow it to start until three weeks after the election.

但今年，特朗普總統直到大選後三週才允許開始。

So... does that actually matter?

那麼... ... 這真的很重要嗎？

And why does America take so long to switch presidents?

而美國為什麼要花這麼長的時間來更換總統？

Trump is not the first outgoing president to be uncooperative.

特朗普不是第一個不合作的卸任總統。

In 1932, President Herbert Hoover lost to Franklin Delano Roosevelt in a landslide.

1932年，赫伯特-胡佛總統以壓倒性優勢輸給了富蘭克林-德拉諾-羅斯福。

It was the middle of the Great Depression,

當時正值大蕭條時期。

and Roosevelt had campaigned on his "New Deal" ideas.

而羅斯福曾在競選中提出他的 "新政 "主張。

But Hoover didn't like those ideas.

但胡佛不喜歡這些想法。

And he used the transition period to keep FDR from getting started on them.

而他利用過渡期，讓FDR無法著手處理這些問題。

At the time, this gap was even longer.

當時，這個差距就更大了。

The Constitution, written in the 1700s, had set it at around four months.

17世紀寫成的《憲法》曾規定為四個月左右。

After FDR's election, it was shortened, to the current two and a half months.

FDR當選後，縮短了，到現在的兩個半月。

That's still pretty long. But the modern US, with its expansive federal government,

這還是挺長的。但現代的美國，聯邦政府的擴張性。

has found that time period useful.

已發現該時間段有用。

The federal government is kind of like this huge, massive, big ship,

聯邦政府有點像這艘巨大的，巨大的，大船。

that takes a lot of direction to steer.

這需要很多的方向來引導。

When the US changes presidents, thousands of federal jobs have to be changed, too.

當美國更換總統時，成千上萬的聯邦工作崗位也要更換。

And that changeover takes time.

而這種轉變需要時間。

Those new hires need offices, government emails,

那些新員工需要辦公室，政府的郵箱。

and they need to get fully briefed on the ins and outs of how these departments run.

而且他們需要全面瞭解這些部門的運作方式的來龍去脈。

And, most importantly, the president needs to get caught up on national security and intelligence.

而且，最重要的是，總統需要抓好國家安全和情報工作。

On January 20th at noon, one administration is going to take over,

1月20日中午，有一個管理部門要接管。

and the threats that America faces are not necessarily going to respect that gap.

和美國面臨的威脅不一定會尊重這種差距。

In 2000, the election between George W. Bush and Al Gore was so close

2000年，喬治-布什和阿爾-戈爾之間的選舉非常接近。

that the winner wasn't actually decided until mid-December.

以至於直到12月中旬才真正決定勝負。

Which meant Bush's transition had to happen pretty rapidly.

這就意味著布什的過渡期必須非常迅速。

Later, after the September 11th attacks, a government report said,

後來，"9-11 "襲擊事件發生後，一份政府報告說。

“this loss of time hampered the new administration”

"這種時間上的損失妨礙了新政府的工作"

in its readiness to deal with national security threats.

在其應對國家安全威脅的準備方面，。

They suggested that in the future, the transition should start as soon as possible.

他們建議，今後應儘快開始過渡。

But, unlike in 2000, the delay in transition in 2020

但是，與2000年不同的是，2020年的過渡期延後了。

wasn't because we didn't know who won the election.

不是因為我們不知道誰贏得了選舉。

"NBC News now projects..."

"NBC新聞現在計劃..."

"CBS News projects..."

"CBS新聞項目..."

"CNN projects Joseph R. Biden Jr. is elected."

"CNN預測小約瑟夫-拜登當選。"

When the media declares a winner on election night, it feels like a big moment.

當媒體在選舉之夜宣佈勝出時，感覺就像一個重要的時刻。

But it doesn't actually carry any formal weight. It's a projection.

但它實際上並沒有任何形式上的重量。這是一個投影。

The election isn't officially over until each state certifies their results,

在各州證明其結果之前，選舉還沒有正式結束。

and the Electoral College votes, in mid-December.

和選舉團投票，在12月中旬。

But usually, by that point both presidential candidates

但通常，到了那個時候，兩位總統候選人

have already acknowledged what the outcome will be.

已經承認結果會是什麼。

The loser usually concedes, and that sets off this presidential transition process

失敗者通常會認輸，這就引發了這個總統的過渡過程。

where the outgoing administration helps to usher in the incoming administration.

離任政府幫助迎接新政府的到來。

In 2020, we found out what happens when the outcome is widely agreed upon,

2020年，我們發現，當結果被廣泛認同時，會發生什麼？

but the loser doesn't concede.

但輸家不服輸。

Before the transition can start, an office of the federal government

在過渡期開始之前，聯邦政府的一個辦公室。

has to give the go-ahead.

不得不給予準許。

The problem is, that relies on everyone agreeing who the president-elect is.

問題是，這有賴於大家都同意誰是當選總統。

Eventually, after several key states certified their results,

最終，經過幾個關鍵州的成果認證。

Trump didn't concede, but he did allow the transition to begin.

特朗普沒有讓步，但他確實允許開始過渡。

Without actually referring to Biden as the president-elect.

卻沒有真正把拜登稱為當選總統。

"Nearly three weeks after the election...

"選舉後近三週...

"The Trump administration backed down."

"特朗普政府退讓了"

"President-elect Biden getting daily intelligence briefings..."

"當選總統拜登每天都要聽取情報簡報..."

"...on everything from vaccine distribution, testing, and PPE supply chains."

"......從疫苗分配、測試到個人防護裝備供應鏈的一切問題。"

This gap between presidents feels long.

這種總裁之間的差距感覺很長。

But it's necessary to keep America's government running.

但為了維持美國政府的運轉，這是必要的。

And for the incoming Biden administration, it's going to be a lot shorter.

而對於即將上任的拜登政府來說，時間會短很多。

And it shows that our tradition of a smooth transfer of power is just that — a tradition.

而這也說明，我們的權力平穩交接的傳統，只是一個傳統。

Not a rule.

不是規則。