US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that he is “not going anywhere” and took a swipe at former President Donald Trump during remarks before service members and military families who had gathered at the White House for a Fourth of July barbecue, The Hill reported.
Biden spoke for about four minutes, then made some unscripted remarks at the event, a barbecue for active-duty military service members and their families outside the White House.
“I was in a World War I cemetery in France, and […] the former president didn’t want to go and be up there. Which I probably shouldn’t have said,” Biden said, prompting a murmur of laughter.
“Anyway, we gotta just remember who the hell we are. We’re the United States of America,” Biden continued.
A supporter then yelled to Biden, “Keep up the fight. We need you,” to which the President replied, “You got me, man. I’m not going anywhere.”
Biden’s comments come as he has faced calls to withdraw from the presidential race following his poor showing at last week’s debate against Trump.
While senior lawmakers from the Democratic Party have stood behind Biden, two sitting Democrats - Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) and Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) - have publicly called on the President to withdraw.
On Tuesday, Biden blamed foreign travel for his poor debate performance last week, saying that he almost fell asleep on the stage last week.
“I wasn’t very smart. I decided to travel around the world a couple of times … shortly before the debate,” he said while talking to donors at a fundraiser in Virginia, as quoted by The Hill. “I didn’t listen to my staff … and then I almost fell asleep on stage.”
Later, The New York Times reported that Biden had told an ally that he is considering withdrawing from the presidential race following the disastrous debate, though Biden denied that report.