In a speech given durng the evening on July 1, the same day as the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled in favor of former President Donald Trump in a case on executive privilege and whether presidents are protected from prosecution over official acts they perform as part of the job, President Joe Biden tried going on the attack against SCOTUS and ended up making an embarrassing gaffe.

As background, the Monday, July 1 SCOTUS ruling came as part of a case brought against former President Trump by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who has attempted to bring charges against the former president in Washington, D.C. over his conduct on January 6, 2021, during the Capitol riot. Former President Trump argued that he is immune from prosecution for those official acts he made as president.

The Supreme Court agreed, finding, “In dividing official from unofficial conduct, courts may not inquire into the President’s motives.” Continuing, SCOTUS described official conduct and what it means, saying, “Whenever the President and Vice President discuss their official responsibilities, they engage in official conduct.”

SCOTUS added, describing the charges and the immunity claim, “The indictment’s allegations that Trump attempted to pressure the Vice President to take particular acts in connection with his role at the certification proceeding thus involve official conduct, and Trump is at least presumptively immune from prosecution for such conduct.”

Additionally, describing when the immunity applies, SCOTUS said, “The President enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the President does is official. The President is not above the law. But under our system of separated powers, the President may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for his official acts,” the Court concluded. “That immunity applies equally to all occupants of the Oval Office.”

President Joe Biden, speaking about the matter, went on the attack. He said, in part, “This nation was founded on the principle that there are no kings in America. Each, each of us is equal before the law. No one, no one is above the law, not even the president of the United States. [With] today’s Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity, that fundamentally changed for all practical purposes.”

He also said, “The presidency is the most powerful office in the world. It’s an office that not only tests your judgment; perhaps even more importantly, it’s an office that can test your character. Because 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.”

Concluding his remarks, President Biden said, “I dissent.” But he also made one of his characteristic gaffes and appeared to read off of the instructions on the teleprompter, saying, “End of quote. Watch President Biden’s gaffe here:

Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video