Hello everyone! We’ve got some gripping news from the political arena that you won’t want to miss.
On Monday, President Joe Biden struggled during his first remarks since his disastrous debate performance last week, and he refused to answer all questions from reporters. These remarks came in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for official acts made as president but not for unofficial conduct.
Critics quickly noticed that Biden, who only managed to speak off a teleprompter for about four minutes before calling it quits, appeared with an oddly orange hue—quite a contrast from his pasty appearance during the debate.
In his speech, Biden declared, “This nation was founded on the principle that there are no kings in America. Each of us is equal before the law. No one, no one is above the law, not even the president of the United States. But today’s Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity, that fundamentally changed. For all practical purposes, today’s decision almost certainly means that there are virtually no limits on what the president can do. This is a fundamentally new principle, and it’s a dangerous precedent.”
However, Biden’s claim was misleading. The Supreme Court’s ruling clearly stated that there are limits to presidential actions, specifying that immunity applies only to official acts within the “outer perimeter” of the President’s responsibilities and not actions that are “manifestly or palpably beyond his authority.”
Despite this clarification, Biden continued to criticize the court, saying, “This decision today has continued the court’s attack in recent years on a wide range of long-established legal principles in our nation. From gutting voting rights and civil rights to taking away a woman’s right to choose, to today’s decision that undermines the rule of law of this nation.”
Biden, whose polling numbers have worsened since his debate loss against former President Donald Trump, used his office to push for Trump’s criminal trial to take place before the upcoming presidential election. “I know I will respect the limits of presidential powers, I have for three and a half years,” Biden claimed.
“But any president, including Donald Trump, will now be free to ignore the law. I concur with Justice Sotomayor’s dissent today. Here’s what she said, she said, ‘in every use of visual power, the president is now a king above law, with fear for our democracy I dissent.’ End of quote. So should the American people dissent. I dissent.”
President Biden full statement on U.S. Supreme Court Immunity Ruling: “This is a fundamentally new principle and it’s a dangerous precedent. The power of the office will no longer be constrained by the law…The only limits will be self-imposed by the president alone.” pic.twitter.com/ltEeIdwQkc
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 2, 2024
