Joe Biden has said the historic ruling that former presidents have immunity violates the principle “that there are no kings in America” – and means they can now “ignore the law”.

He was speaking after the US Supreme Court decided absolute immunity exists from criminal prosecution for official acts while in office, but not for unofficial ones.

“Each, each of us is equal before the law. No one is above the law, not even the president of the United States,” Mr Biden said on Monday evening.

The ruling is a victory for Donald Trump, who is accused of illegally trying to overturn his 2020 election loss.

“I know I will respect the limits of presidential power as I have for the three-and-a-half years,” Mr Biden said.

“But any president, including Donald Trump, will now be free to ignore the law.”

The Supreme Court did not rule on the merits of Trump’s case, but referred it back to a lower court to decide how to apply the ruling.

It must now decide whether Trump was acting officially or privately in relation to the charges.

President Biden said Monday’s ruling also means the ex-president is now “highly unlikely” to go on trial before US voters have their say again in four months’ time.

“It’s a terrible disservice to the people in this nation,” he said.

If Trump becomes president again in November, he may be able to use his powers to dismiss the charges against him.

He earlier celebrated the ruling, posting online: “BIG WIN FOR OUR CONSTITUTION AND DEMOCRACY. PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!”

The three liberal justices all dissented with the majority opinion – with Sonia Sotomayor warning it was a dangerous step for democracy.

She said it made a “mockery” of the principle that “no man is above the law”.

“In every use of official power, the president is now a king above the law,” she wrote.

The chief justice, John Roberts, insisted that wasn’t true but said they have “at least presumptive immunity from prosecution” for official acts.

The decision passed with the help of the three conservative judges Trump appointed when he was president.

Mr Biden’s comments follow his poor showing in the TV debate with Trump last week, a performance that prompted speculation the Democrats might try to replace him as candidate.

The 81-year’s remarks were his first from the White House since then, and he put in a far more assured and coherent performance – even sporting a glowing tan.

However, Mr Biden was reading from an autocue – something he did not have the benefit of during his stumbling face off with Trump.

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Mr Biden admitted last week his debating skills were not what they once were but said it was his substance and actions that mattered.

His family have also urged him to carry on.

Democrat insiders spoke of panic after the TV debacle, but any effort to force him to withdraw against his will is extremely unlikely – with the only realistic route being if he stepped down himself.

The US Supreme Court has sent Donald Trump’s claim he is immune from prosecution for his actions while president back to a lower court.

Trump faces prosecution over his role in the deadly January 6 riots in 2021 at the Capitol in Washington DC, after he encouraged his supporters to gather at Congress to oppose the approval of Joe Biden’s 2020 election win; and alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election result.

The former president had been charged with conspiracy to defraud the US, conspiring against the right of Americans to vote and corruptly obstructing an official proceeding and conspiring to do so.

In a historic 6-3 ruling, the justices said for the first time that former presidents have absolute immunity from prosecution for their official acts, but no immunity for unofficial acts.

But instead of deciding for themselves, the justices ordered lower courts to work out precisely how to apply their decision to Trump’s case.

The lower court must now decide whether he was acting officially or privately.

Trump’s legal team had argued he was immune from prosecution as he was serving as president when he took the actions leading to the charges.

Special Counsel Jack Smith, who brought the charges in August last year, has opposed presidential immunity from prosecution based on the principle no one is above the law.

A trial had been scheduled to start on 4 March, before the delays over the immunity issue.

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The Supreme Court’s decision adds further delays. If Trump becomes president again in November, in reality he may be able to use his powers to dismiss the charges against him.

The court’s slow handling of the case has already helped Trump by making it unlikely any trial on these charges could be completed before the election on 5 November.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He has said this case and three others are politically motivated attempts to keep him from returning to the White House.

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Joe Biden’s family has urged the US president not to quit the election campaign, even as donors discussed the alternatives if he pulled out following his disastrous performance in last week’s first presidential debate with Donald Trump.

Mr Biden’s family discussed the future of his campaign when they met for a long-planned photo shoot at Camp David in Maryland on Sunday, and told him he should “keep fighting”, NBC, Sky News’ US partner said, quoting two sources familiar with the discussions.

His wife Jill Biden and Mr Biden’s son, Hunter, the people whose opinions he values most, both insisted he should stay in the race as he’s the best-placed candidate to defeat Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee.

It was a view echoed by the rest of the family, who instead blamed the president’s advisers for failing to prepare him properly.

Around 40 of Biden’s top financial backers were briefed by campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez, who told them most of the campaign’s significant war chest would fall to Vice President Kamala Harris, with a smaller pool of money kept by the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

It was one of several meetings in recent days in which campaign managers have tried to shore up support for Mr Biden, whom, they insist, can still win November’s election.

But a Biden victory appeared a long way away as the 81-year-old Democrat candidate paused and stumbled his way through a gruelling TV debate on Thursday in Atlanta, his performance dismissed as an “unmitigated disaster” by some in his own party.

A poll of polls maintained by analysts FiveThirtyEight had the pair roughly neck and neck until the debate, but Donald Trump has since pulled ahead, if only by one percentage point. RealClearPolitics put Trump 1.9 percentage points in front.

Watched by an estimated 51 million people, Mr Biden, whose age was already seen as a liability by voters, sounded raspy, trailed off, and at times gave convoluted answers during the debate.

The president’s showing sparked alarm among supporters, donors and campaign surrogates, worried that Mr Biden’s age, already targeted by Trump, 78, had caught up with him, and this was one campaign too far.

Mr Biden’s campaign has been working hard to persuade them that is not the case ever since.

Prominent Democrats made a public show of support for him on Sunday, among them congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina, who said: “I do not believe that Joe Biden has a problem leading for the next four years.”

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But former senator Tom Harkin called the debate “a disaster from which Biden cannot recover” and Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin said there were “serious and rigorous conversations taking place” over replacing Biden, according to NBC.

Democratic National Convention (DNC) chairman Jaime Harrison and Mr Biden’s campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, spoke to some of the most influential members of the party on Saturday, presenting a rosy outlook and taking no questions.

Multiple Democrat officials on the call, most speaking on condition of anonymity, said it felt like they were being asked to ignore a serious predicament.

Joe Salazar, an elected DNC member from Colorado, said they were being “gaslit”.

It comes as a YouGov poll for CBS News found that the percentage of respondents who felt that Mr Biden did not have the mental and cognitive health required to be president was now 72%, up from 65% in the previous poll carried out in early June, before the debate.