STORY: U.S. President Joe Biden used Fourth of July celebrations on Thursday to hit back at doubts about his stamina and mental acuity.
As Biden mingled with guests, he repeated his pledge to remain in the presidential race after a supporter called out for him to "keep up the fight."
"You got me, man. I'm not going anywhere."
Since the 81-year-old Democrat's shaky debate performance against Republican rival Donald Trump last week, his appearances are being even more closely scrutinized, and some in his party have urged him to step aside.
If reelected, Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term, and many Democratic voters are worried about whether he can keep up a grueling pace of work for another term.
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Abigail Disney, granddaughter of Walt Disney, on Thursday became the latest major Democratic donor to call for Biden to withdraw from the race, telling CNBC that she will halt donations to the party until he does so.
U.S. Independence Day festivities hosted by Biden at the White House included a barbecue for a few thousand active-duty military service members and their families.
Reading from a teleprompter, Biden made no major errors in delivering brief remarks, but at one point appeared to go off script to make reference to a war cemetery that Trump declined to visit while in office.
"By the way, you know, I was in that World War One cemetery in France. The one that one of our colleagues, a former president didn't want to go... I probably shouldn't have said, anyway."
Biden was joined at the celebrations by Vice President Kamala Harris.
Sources have said that Harris is the leading contender to take Biden's place in the November election if Biden were to drop out, though his allies remain confident he can sure up support from voters and donors.
Among the events on Biden's calendar being closely scrutinized is an interview with ABC News set to be broadcast in a Friday primetime slot.
He also travels to Wisconsin the same day for a campaign rally.
