In his first comments since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Donald Trump’s immunity case, President Joe Biden said that the decision “undermines the rule of law in this nation.”

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden denounced the Supreme Court’s ruling in Donald Trump’s immunity case, saying that it "fundamentally" alters the principle that no one is above the law

  • In a 6-3 decision earlier Monday, the high court rejected Trump’s claims of absolute immunity from the federal election subversion case against him, but determined that presidents are shielded from prosecution for “official” acts, but not “unofficial” ones

  • The high court’s liberal justices, in dissent, warned that the ruling "effectively creates a law-free zone around the President" and "makes a mockery of the principle, foundational to our Constitution and system of government, that no man is above the law"

  • Biden, who is running against Trump for a second term in the Oval Office, said that it's up to the American public to hold the Republican ex-president accountable at the ballot box in November

Speaking from the White House's Cross Hall in brief remarks on Monday evening, hours after the high court handed down the landmark ruling, Biden said that the presidency is not only the most powerful office in the world, but one that tests the holder's character.

"You not only face moments where you need the courage to exercise the full power of the presidency, you also face moments where you need the wisdom to respect the limits of the power of the office of the presidency," Biden said in brief remarks from the White House. "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."

"Today's Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity, that fundamentally changed for all practical purposes," Biden continued. "Today's decision almost certainly means that there are virtually no limits on what a president can do."

In a 6-3 decision earlier Monday, the high court rejected Trump’s claims of absolute immunity from the federal election subversion case against him, but determined that presidents are shielded from prosecution for “official” acts, but not “unofficial” ones.

The high court’s liberal justices, in dissent, warned that the ruling "effectively creates a law-free zone around the President" and "makes a mockery of the principle, foundational to our Constitution and system of government, that no man is above the law."

"The relationship between the President and the people he serves has shifted irrevocably," Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for the high court's liberal wing. "In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law."

Biden agreed, saying that the ruling sets “a dangerous precedent” for the country.

"This is a fundamentally new principle, and it's a dangerous precedent because the power of the office will no longer be constrained by the law, even including Supreme Court of the United States," the president said, adding: "The only limits will be self-imposed posed by the president alone."

Trump celebrated the ruling on Monday as a "BIG WIN FOR OUR CONSTITUTION AND DEMOCRACY" and called for the criminal cases against him to come to an end. Trump faces dozens of felonies across multiple criminal cases, and was convicted in May of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in relation to hush money payments to an adult film star in the leadup to the 2016 presidential election. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the ongoing cases against him and vowed to appeal the New York hush money ruling.

According to The New York Times, Trump's attorneys sent a letter to the judge in his hush money case on Monday seeking to have his conviction thrown out, citing the Supreme Court's ruling -- even though the case centered around actions taken when he was a candidate, not the president. Trump is set to be sentenced on July 11.

The ruling remands his election case back to a lower court for further consideration, meaning that it's highly unlikely the case goes to trial before the election in November.

The Democratic incumbent called it "a terrible disservice to the people in this nation" that Trump's case will not go forward, denying the American people the opportunity to see the Republican ex-president face trial for the Jan. 6 attack and alleged efforts to overturn the results of the election.

Biden, who is running against Trump for a second term in the Oval Office, said that it's up to the American public to hold the Republican ex-president accountable at the ballot box in November.

"Now, the American people will have to do what the court should have been willing to do but will not: the American people have to render a judgment about Donald Trump's behavior," Biden said. "The American people must decide whether Donald Trump's assault on our democracy on Jan. 6 makes him unfit for public office, the highest office in the land.

"The American people must decide if Trump's embrace of violence to preserve his power is acceptable," he continued. "Perhaps most importantly, the American people must decide they want to entrust the presidency to Donald Trump, once again, now knowing he'll be more emboldened to do whatever he pleases, whenever he wants to do it."

“I concur with Justice Sotomayor’s dissent today," Biden said. "She said, ‘In every use of official power a president is now king above law. With fear for our democracy I dissent.’ So should the American people dissent. I dissent.”

"May God bless you all, and may God help preserve our democracy," he concluded.