Biden slams SCOTUS ruling on presidential immunity/Trump during partisan primetime TV address; poll reveals political free fall
In a primetime TV address Monday night, July 1, President Joe Biden attempted to shift the focus from his disastrous debate performance to Donald Trump, following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling granting broad immunity from prosecution to Trump and other presidents.
In the partisan speech, the 81-year-old President said the conservative majority ruling makes it almost certain that Trump will not face trial in Washington ahead of the November election over his actions during the violent riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Biden stated that no one is above the law, not even the president of the United States.
Biden appeared with the benefit of a teleprompter for his remarks about the court, which he didn’t have when he faced off in the debate with Trump, stumbling badly. He said he would respect the limits of presidential power as he has for three-and-a-half years, but any president, including Donald Trump, will now be free to ignore the law.
Media reports indicate private discussions are being held on what Biden can do to counteract what Americans saw during the debate, such as giving convoluted answers, trailing off at times, and occasionally staring blankly. The Biden team may not alter anything, particularly after Biden's family encouraged him to stay in the race and keep fighting. Campaign officials have not announced any new events, but they say Biden will continue campaigning and hitting battleground states.
The campaign has been promoting Biden’s speech in North Carolina held this past weekend and continued strong fundraising numbers to show that the debate was an anomaly. However, indications are that voters are now watching Biden more closely for signs of whether he is capable of continuing to serve as President.
Biden’s campaign officials have said there was no discussion of Biden exiting the race or any staff shakeups following the debate.
New Poll Reveals Biden Free Fall
Biden’s July 1 speech came shortly before the June Harvard CAPS / Harris poll, was released. The poll was conducted June 28-30, 2024, among 2,090 registered voters.
Biden’s overall approval rating dropped to 40%, his lowest since July 2022, while inflation and immigration remained voters’ top two concerns.
Other key findings:
Debate Hurts Biden, Helps Trump
74% of voters think Biden is too old to be President, an 11-point increase after the debate.
66% of voters doubt Biden’s mental fitness for office, a 12-point increase after the debate.
Voters are on net 7 points more likely to vote for Trump after the debate and 20 points less likely to vote for Biden.
Attitudes Toward Economy Worsen
62% of voters characterize their personal economics as fair or poor, up 7 points from May.
52% of voters say their personal financial situation is getting worse, especially among Republican (69%) and rural (63%) voters.
Biden’s approval on handling inflation dropped to 34%, his lowest in two years.
Trump Continues to Lead Horse Race
Trump leads Biden by 4 points in the horserace, down 2 points from last month.
41% of voters (a plurality) say Trump’s guilty verdict in the New York hush money case has no impact on their vote, while 31% say they are more likely to vote for Trump and 27% say less likely.
Marco Rubio and Tim Scott are the VP nominees who would be most helpful to Trump.
Immigration-Crime Nexus Continues to Concern Voters
Voters say the top issues caused by mass immigration are an increase in violence/crime (57%), a strain on resources such as healthcare and education (57%), and a rise in homelessness (55%).
56% of voters think Biden’s recent asylum ban for migrants caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border is “too little, too late.”
52% of voters support Biden’s recent executive order aimed at expediting citizenship for the undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens.
Support for Israel Remains High
64% of voters are paying close attention to the Israel-Hamas war, down 9 points from May, but support for Israel remains consistent at 80%.
67% of voters say Israel should retaliate against Hezbollah until they stop firing rockets into the north (ages 18-24: 53%; ages 65+: 85%).
More (Download the full results of poll)