JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – There were two major developments in the 2024 race for president affecting both candidates on Monday.
First, around 10:30 a.m., the Supreme Court issued a ruling on presidential immunity that makes it unlikely that former President Donald Trump will face trial before the election on charges he plotted to overturn the 2020 election.
Also, national Democrats are still wrestling with the question of whether President Biden should step down following last week’s widely criticized debate performance.
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The Supreme Court struck a blow to the potential for a federal trial of former President Trump beginning before Election Day.
The 6-3 ruling by the Supreme Court says President Trump “is entitled to a least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts. There is no immunity for unofficial acts.”
While there is some debate on whether he played a role in the January 6th riot and whether that’s an unofficial act, the high court sent the case back to a D.C. federal court, to determine how the case will move forward.
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Daniel Cronrath teaches political science at FSCJ and said there’s no realistic way a trial can happen before Election Day.
“I think this was a victory for President Trump,” Cronrath said. “I think his next legal hurdle — and he could also convert this to be a positive — which would be his sentencing taking place for the case that took place in New York. Depending on the outcome of that case and what his sentence is he could use that as an opportunity to fundraise.”
The Supreme Court decision is coming with a lot of disagreement. Dissenting Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the ruling “makes a mockery of the principle, foundational to our Constitution and system of government, that no man is above the law.”
On the other side there are questions regarding President Biden following a poor debate performance and multiple Democrats are calling on the party to remove him as the nominee.
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Daniel Henry, Chair of Duval County Democrats, said it is standing behind President Biden.
“I think it’s pretty clear for us in Duval County and Florida and for many Democrats across the county, President Biden is our president. He is the leader of our party he will be the nominee,” he said.
The conservative Heritage Foundation has also been behind a move to make sure Biden can’t be removed from ballots in three states and replaced with another candidate. Those states are Georgia, Wisconsin and New Mexico. Each state law is different. For Georgia, the law allows candidates to withdraw up to 60 days before the election.
Special Counsel Jack Smith, who investigated Trump amid accusations of election subversion, has not commented.