President Biden addressed the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity on Monday, calling it a "dangerous precedent."
"This nation was founded on the principle that there are no kings in America," President Biden said. "For all practical purposes, today's decision almost certainly means there are virtually no limits on what a president can do."
"This is a fundamentally new principle, and it's a dangerous precedent," President Biden said.
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court returned lower court rulings and stated that a former president has absolute immunity for his core constitutional powers.
Writing the opinion on behalf of the six conservative justices, Chief Justice John Roberts said former President Trump is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts, but there is no immunity for unofficial acts. The court sent the case back to a lower court to determine which of Trump's actions regarding the Jan. 6 insurrection, if any, were official duties and therefore subject to immunity.
"Now the American people have to do what the court should have been willing to do, but would not," President Biden said. "The American people must decide whether Donald Trump's assault on our democracy on Jan. 6 makes him unfit for public office in the highest office of the land. The American people must decide if Trump's embrace of violence to preserve his power is acceptable."
President Biden said it was the character of the president that would define the limits of the office's power, "because the law will no longer do it."
"I know I will respect the limits of presidential power, as I have for three and a half years," President Biden said.
Watch more: Supreme Court sends Trump case back to lower court, giving former president limited immunity
