Biden says I'm not going anywhere' as calls to quit race grow

US President Joe Biden said “I’m not going anywhere” as he faced calls by many Democrats to end his re-election bid, using the Fourth of July celebrations to hit back at doubts about his stamina and mental acuity to continue his campaign.

The 81-year-old Democrat’s shaky showing at a June 27 debate with Republican rival Donald Trump means his every appearance is now closely scrutinised.

Many Democratic voters are worried about whether he can keep up a gruelling pace of work for the next 4½ years, and some in his party have urged him to step aside.

Mr Biden was hosting the annual US Independence Day festivities at the White House on July 4, including a barbecue for a few thousand active-duty military service members and their families.

In a suit with no neck tie, he began his remarks with a forceful: “Happy Independence Day!”

Reading from a teleprompter, Mr 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 I cemetery in France. The one that one of our colleagues, a former president, didn’t want to go...” he said, his voice dropping to a low volume and trailing off.

“I probably shouldn’t have said, anyway,” Mr Biden added, before continuing his remarks.

As he mingled and took selfies with guests, someone called out for him to “keep up the fight”.

“You got me, man. I’m not going anywhere,” Mr Biden said, repeating his pledge to remain in the race despite the growing calls to step aside.