Both responded after the Supreme Court’s 6–3 ruling that presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for “official acts.”
WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on July 1 issued contrasting reactions to the Supreme Court decision that presidents have absolute immunity from prosecution for official acts.
Former President Trump, who may benefit from the ruling, called it a “big win for our Constitution and democracy.”
President Biden addressed the nation on July 1 in response to the ruling, saying that it “undermines the rule of law of this nation.”
“This nation was founded on the principle that there are no kings in America,” President Biden said, speaking from the Cross Hall at the White House.
“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 [with] today’s Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity, that fundamentally changed,” he said.
The Supreme Court’s decision sends special counsel Jack Smith’s election case against former President Donald Trump back to the district court for further consideration. Judge Tanya Chutkan will now have to determine whether several of President Trump’s actions in the indictment were official or unofficial.
The ruling was a partial victory for former President Trump, who sought a broader form of immunity than the justices ultimately granted. He had asked the court to rule that he enjoyed immunity from criminal prosecution for his official acts unless Congress had impeached and convicted him for those acts.
“Big win for our Constitution and democracy. Proud to be an American!” former President Trump responded to the decision on his social media platform, TruthSocial, using all capital letters.
President Biden, however, said that the Supreme Court’s decision “almost certainly means the there are virtually no limits to what the president can do,” arguing that he is no longer being constrained by the law, even including the Supreme Court.
“The only limits will be self imposed by the president alone.”
By T.J. Muscaro and Emel Akan
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