CELEBRITY
WATCH: ‘No one is above the law,’ Biden says after Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity and Trump: Biden seemed relaxed and confident, striking a clear and crisp tone and looking tanned and rested
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is seeking to put the focus squarely onto Donald Trump following his uneven debate performance last week.
Speaking Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling granting broad immunity from prosecution to Trump and other presidents, Biden said the high court’s ruling had undermined the rule of law. The court’s conservative majority ruling makes it all but certain that the Republican will not face trial in Washington ahead of the November election over his actions during the violent riot on Jan. 6, 2021. “No one is above the law, not even the president of the United States,” Biden said from the White House.
During his brief remarks he made no mention of last week’s debate or his performance, and did not take questions. Biden seemed relaxed and confident, striking a clear and crisp tone and looking tanned and rested — all of which was in stark contrast to his often halting performance during last week’s debate, when his face was notably pale. The president also had the benefit of a teleprompter for his remarks about the court, something he didn’t have while facing off with Trump.
“I know I will respect the limits of presidential power as I have for the three-and-a-half years, but any president, including Donald Trump, will now be free to ignore the law,” Biden said. For all the public efforts to shift the focus away from his uneven performance that spooked donors and prompted Democratic anxiety, there have been private discussions on what more Biden could do to counteract what Americans saw during the debate, when he gave convoluted answers, trailed off at times, occasionally stared blankly and sounded raspy-voiced.
There has been talk about whether Biden should be seen more in public through town-hall-style events or interviews and press conferences, which he has generally avoided during his time in office.
But most in his orbit are waiting on more substantial polling to come back in order to assess how bad the damage was before altering course in any substantial way. That’s according to four Biden advisers who were not authorized to speak publicly about internal discussions and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Biden’s team may not alter anything at all. Many think — or hope — the fraught moment will pass, particularly after Biden’s family encouraged him to stay in the race and keep fighting during a huddle at Camp David on Sunday.
Campaign officials said Monday they had nothing to announce on new events. They said Biden would be campaigning as he has been, hitting battleground states as he has already been doing for months.