In his first 2024 debate against Donald Trump last week, President Biden had one objective,

and it wasn't to position himself as the savior of democracy, the protector of reproductive

rights, or the non-felon in the

race. No, his primary goal was to demonstrate to voters that he still has the physical stama

and mental acuity to lead the country for another four years. But since Thursday night, even

many Biden supporters have been questioning whether he is up for the job. And a word that keeps

coming up in coverage of the Democratic Party behind the scenes is panic.

From KERA in Dallas, this is think. I'm Chris Boyd. Democrats have seven weeks before they meet in Chicago to officially nominate their candidate for the 2024 election.

Would Biden possibly step aside to make room for a Kamala Harris, a Gretchen

Whitmer, a Gavin Newsom, or someone else? If that happened, what exactly would the party

need to do to anoint a new nominee? And are there any historical precedents that suggest how

this might play out? Jeffrey Engel is here to offer some context. He is director of the Center

for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University. Jeffrey, welcome back to think.

Hi, good to talk to you. Before we jump into the upheaval within the Democratic Party specifically over Joe Biden, we have to talk about the Supreme Court's declaration yesterday that presidents do have absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for what have been

called clearly official acts during their tenure in the White House, but no immunity necessarily

for unofficial acts. Setting aside the extent to which this delays any criminal proceedings

against him, is this a victory or a loss for Donald Trump? I think it's a loss for

America. I am shook is the only way to describe it and afraid. One of the foundational ideas of

our democracy, the kind of thing that we tell our elementary school students in civics class,

if they still have them, is that no person is above the law.

The president is still a citizen. The president is still responsible for his acts or her acts.

And that the president can be held responsible. And that's not true. I feel like one of the things

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