US President Joe Biden speaks in the Cross Hall of the White House, July 1, 2024, in Washington.
WASHINGTON. US President Joe Biden criticizes the US Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity that was seen as a win for his rival, former president Donald Trump, in forceful remarks from the White House.
The US Supreme Court found that Trump cannot be prosecuted for any actions that were within his constitutional powers as president, but can be for private acts, in a landmark ruling recognizing for the first time any form of presidential immunity from prosecution.
“This nation was founded on the principle that there are no kings in America,” Biden says, adding that no one is above the law. With the Supreme Court decision, he says, “That fundamentally changed.”
Biden is running for re-election against Trump and has been sharply critical of his rival’s actions related to the January 6, 2021, raid on the US Capitol by Trump’s supporters, who believed Trump’s false claims that he had won the 2020 election.
Biden, 81, is making his first set of remarks at the White House since his shaky debate against Trump last week led to calls for him to step aside as the Democratic Party’s standard-bearer for the election.
After he stumbled over his words on the Atlanta debate stage, his remarks and comportment will be scrutinized for signs that he is up to the job of running for re-election and of governing the country for four more years.
