Biden on Trump’s immunity: ‘Dangerous precedent’

In a speech at the White House on Monday night (1st), the President of the United States, Joe Biden, criticized a decision by the country’s Supreme Court, which, in the judgment of an appeal filed by former President Donald Trump (2017-2021), ruled that occupants or former occupants of the most important position in the American Executive can claim immunity for “official acts” carried out during their terms.

“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,” Biden said, according to CNN.

“With today’s Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity, that has fundamentally changed. For all practical purposes, there are virtually no limits on what the president can do. This is a fundamentally new principle and a dangerous precedent because the power of the office will no longer be limited by the law, including even the Supreme Court of the United States,” the Democratic president said.

The Supreme Court made the decision, by six votes to three, after Trump filed an appeal challenging the understanding of an appeals court, which in February had ruled that the Republican, Biden’s opponent in the November presidential election, was not entitled to immunity in the process that investigates whether he was responsible for the invasion of his supporters at the Capitol in January 2021 (when Trump was still president).

With Monday’s Supreme Court decision, the Republican can claim immunity in the case – it will be up to lower court judges to decide what are “official acts” of a president or not – which is unlikely to be concluded before the November 5 election.

Biden called the Capitol riot “one of the darkest days in American history.” “I know I will respect the limits of the presidential powers I have had for three and a half years, but any president — including Donald Trump — will now have the freedom to ignore the law,” the Democrat said.

The Supreme Court’s decision comes at a delicate time for Biden in the presidential race: his poor performance in the debate against Trump last Thursday (27), in which he stuttered, was unable to complete his reasoning and showed disorientation at various moments, led many Democrats to consider the possibility of replacing the party’s candidate.

In a YouGov poll released by CBS News over the weekend, 72% of registered voters surveyed felt that Biden was not mentally or cognitively fit to be president.