Biden REJECTS claims that his border policies have led to an increase in migrant crossings and speeches as president at age 85 in TIME interview

President Joe Biden, 81, says he wishes he had taken action sooner to reverse Donald Trump’s border policies.

In a defensive and sometimes combative sense interview with Time magazineThe president emphasized that his age is not an issue in the 2024 elections, even if he would be 86 at the end of a second term.

While Biden is expected to issue an executive order this week to close the border once the number of border crossings reaches 4,000 per day, he still maintains that his past actions on illegal immigration have not worsened the ongoing crisis.

Alongside inflation and the economy, immigration often tops the list of biggest issues facing Americans ahead of November’s presidential election. But Biden faces another uphill battle: his age.

Polls in recent months continue to show that voters think the current president is too old or mentally and physically unfit for another four years in office. If Biden is elected to a second term, he would beat his own record set three and a half years ago by being the oldest president ever elected.

“You are 81 years old, and would be 86 by the time you left office,” Washington Bureau Chief Massimo Calabresi and Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs stated in their interview with Biden published online Tuesday.

“A large majority of Americans, including in the Democratic Party, tell pollsters they think you’re too old to lead. Could you really do this job as an 85-year-old man?’ they asked.

“I can do it better than anyone you know,” the presumptive 2024 Democratic nominee responded before challenging, “You look at me, I can take you too.”

“Have you considered giving up running because of your age?”

He replied, ‘No, I didn’t.’

“And what do you say to Americans who are concerned about that?” they followed up.

“Look at me,” Biden said. “Look, name me a president who has gotten as much done as I did in my first three and a half years.”

Meanwhile, nearly 8 million illegal immigrants have crossed the southern border since Biden took office in January 2021, and some estimates put the number of undocumented migrants living in the US at more than 20 million.

“Another of your first actions as president under the banner of values-based leadership was to lift several punitive Trump-era immigration measures, Mr. President, that you and others said were inhumane. In retrospect, do you think these humanitarian actions contributed to the number of illegal border crossings?’

Biden shot back with, “No.”

“Did you do it wrong to lift any of those measures?” they pressed.

“If I’m wrong, it’s because it took too long,” the president responded.

But it didn’t take long for Biden to implement changes to policies implemented by former President Trump during his four years in office.

In fact, on the first day of his presidency, Biden announced he was taking at least five actions related to immigration and the southern border — including ending border wall construction and reopening immigration of migrants from countries deemed hostile to the U.S. are considered.

Biden’s interview with Time Magazine was defensive and at times combative as he was questioned about his record as president and his age at November’s election.

Since becoming president, Biden also ended Trump’s Remain in Mexico policy and Title 42, a pandemic-era policy that allowed for more immediate deportation of illegal immigrants during a public health emergency.

Biden told Time that he is not exploring reinstating Trump’s so-called Remain in Mexico program, despite reports to the contrary.

House Speaker Mike Johnson claims that Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have implemented or taken more than 60 actions to “open the border” and that every executive order from Biden is merely the result of pressure leading up to November.

Other Republican lawmakers claim it’s a “political stunt.”