BBC presenter David Aaronvich on Monday deleted a social media post in which he mocked the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity and suggested President Biden should “rush” and kill former President Trump.
Aronovitch’s comments came in response to a Supreme Court ruling that found the president has absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for acts that fall within the core responsibilities of his office, but is “at least presumptively immune” for all other acts of official conduct.
“If I were Biden I would rush to have Trump killed for being a threat to American security. #SCOTUS,” Aaronvich wrote in a now-deleted post on social platform X.
Aaronvich later said in a statement that the original post was “clearly satirical” but that he had faced strong backlash and decided to remove it.
“My tweet about the Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity was clearly satire, but the far right has accused it of inciting violence, so I am removing it,” Aaronvich said. Written on Monday Afternoon About X.
“At least now we have a map of the stupidest people on the site,” he added.
Aaron Vitch continuation Taking a swipe at his critics, he added in a follow-up post: “Incidentally, anthropologists might find it interesting to look at the hashtags, bios and tweet histories of the people attacking me here today. They reveal a rather unusual subculture.”
Democrats and Trump’s opponents have criticized the ruling, saying it will embolden future presidents to break the law with impunity, including former President Donald Trump now back in the White House.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted the majority’s ruling’s broad impact on the presidency, writing in her dissent that “the majority’s logic equates to immunity from criminal prosecution when the President exercises the power of his office in any way.”
“Order Navy SEAL Unit 6 to assassinate a political opponent? With impunity,” she continued. “Plan a military coup to stay in power? With impunity. Accept a bribe in exchange for amnesty? With impunity. With impunity, with impunity, with impunity.”
