President Joe Biden -- wearing a brown leather jacket and a black baseball hat -- walked out onto the South Lawn of the White House on Saturday morning on his way to Marine One.

He was flying to Camp David for the weekend. But first he stopped to talk to some reporters.

"Mr. President," one of them asked, "would you call the situation on the southern border a 'crisis'?"

"No," said Biden, according to the White House transcript, "but I wish they would react. I've been pushing them -- my Republican colleagues -- since I got into office. I think we have to make major changes at the border. I've been pushing it. I'm prepared to make significant alterations at the border. And there are negotiations going on for the last five weeks, so I'm hopeful we'll get there."

Another reporter asked Biden if he was willing to take "executive action when it comes to the border to address the border crisis if Republican don't pass more funding?"

"Well, Republicans have to pass funding," Biden said. "They have to -- I've read one Republican said, 'We don't want our border (inaudible) it'll only help Biden.'

"I've been pushing for fundamental change on the border for a long time -- a long time," said Biden. "And so, I'm hopeful. I'm going to let those negotiations play out. But other than that, I'm going to take action myself."

Ten days before Biden had this exchange with reporters, House........

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