Joe Biden answers Donald Trump during campaign event in Nevada: 'I'm not going anywhere'

WASHINGTON — Former Vice President and Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden had one message for President Donald Trump on Wednesday night: He’s “not going anywhere.”

Speaking in Nevada, Biden had choice words regarding Trump's rhetoric and remarks surrounding an impeachment inquiry related to a phone call with Ukraine's president where Trump asked him to dig up dirt on Biden and his son Hunter for past business in the country.

At the time of the phone call, the White House was holding up a military aid package Congress had approved for Ukraine.

During a press conference earlier in the day, Trump slammed the Bidens as “stone cold crooked,” and vented on Twitter, saying that Democrats are "wasting everyone’s time and energy."

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“Let me make something clear to Trump and his hatchet men and the special interests funding his attacks against me – I’m not going anywhere,” Biden said in Reno. “You’re not going to destroy me. And you’re not going to destroy my family. I don’t care how much money you spend or how dirty the attacks get.

"I’m not backing down. And I’m not going to be distracted by the lies, smears, distortions and name calling. I’m going to let Congress do its job on impeachment. And I’m going to stay focused on your lives."

Trump declined to answer a specific question during Wednesday's press conference about whether he would honor subpoenas over the Ukraine call that Democrats promised by week's end. He also did not answer a question about what he wanted Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to do about Biden.

Trump continued his defense Wednesday night, accusing Democrats of trying to steal the election, and posted a video about Joe and Hunter Biden, featuring the song "Photograph" by Nickelback and a 2014 picture of the duo with Devon Archer, who also served on the board of the Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma Holdings.

Biden continued to call Trump "desperate and defensive," pointing out the president's comments about the whistleblower being executed, wanting to prosecute the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee for treason, and warning of a civil war.

"The world can’t wait for America to once again lead a stable, peaceful international order," Biden concluded Wednesday.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joe Biden to Donald Trump: 'I'm not going anywhere'