In an interview with Time, President Joe Biden made everyone remember why he does not take interviews very often. Ranging from challenging the reporter to a fight after being asked if 85 was too old to be president to conspiracy theories about Israel, there were times where the commander-in-chief looked a little unhinged.
In one revealing segment, however, Biden may have accidentally revealed that his “pivot” to supporting border security is merely window dressing that he, or really, his staff, hopes will get him through the election.
During the interview, which took place in the White House last month, Biden appeared to revert back to supporting his open border policies in which he has granted “amnesty” to roughly 350,000 migrants.
TIME: Okay, I’m gonna do a couple of rapid fire here. Another of your first acts as President under the banner of value-based leadership was to lift various punitive Trump-era immigration measures, Mr. President, that you and others said were inhumane. In retrospect, do you think those humanitarian moves helped drive record illegal border crossing?
Biden: No.
TIME: Were you wrong to lift any of those measures?
Biden: If I was wrong, it’s because I took too long,
TIME: You’ve put some back in place. The Green Card issue, it’s been reported that you’re looking at reinstating Remain in Mexico. Are you looking at reinstating…
Biden: No
As immigration and inflation continue to undermine his presidency, making him one of the most unpopular president in modern history, Biden recently announced that he would be “taking action” on the border.
The Associated Press reported that “the White House is telling lawmakers that President Joe Biden is preparing to sign off on an executive order that would shut down asylum requests at the U.S.-Mexico border once the average number of daily encounters hits 2,500 between ports of entry, with the border reopening only once that number declines to 1,500, according to several people familiar with the discussions.
The impact of the 2,500 figure means that the executive order could go into immediate effect because daily figures are higher than that now.
The Democratic president is expected to unveil the actions — his most aggressive unilateral move yet to control the numbers at the border — at the White House on Tuesday at an event to which border mayors have been invited.”
The president had previously said that he did not have the authority to do anything on the border without passing a liberal immigration bill that would legalize thousands more.
The actions of some Senate Democrats spoke louder than their words. Axios reported that “several Democrats in competitive Senate races declined President Biden’s invitation to join him Tuesday at the White House…lawmakers in swing states have pushed for stricter border rules, but some may keep the president at arms length as they consistently poll better than him in their states.
The White House invited all Democratic senators to join Biden at an event announcing the new executive actions. But at least Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) and Bob Casey (D-Penn.) — all of whom are seeking re-election in battleground states — will not attend.
Some cited scheduling conflicts.”
A recent Gallup poll discussed by The New York Times revealed “that, for the third straight month, most Americans cited immigration as the most important problem facing the United States. That was the longest stretch that the issue had topped the list in the survey’s 24-year history. A Gallup poll released on Friday showed immigration dropping to second on the list in May, still high by historical standards.
In February, a nationwide New York Times/Siena College poll showed that 49 percent of voters either strongly or somewhat supported making it harder for migrants at the southern border to seek asylum in the United States, slightly more than the 43 percent who either strongly or somewhat opposed doing so.”
