White House hopeful Joe Biden Joe BidenFormer Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick Bloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida MORE on Wednesday hit back at President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE at a rally in Nevada, telling his supporters he’s “not going anywhere” in a fiery rebuke of Trump’s attacks on his dealings with Ukraine.

“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, a front-runner in the 2020 Democratic primary, told a crowd in Reno, Nev. “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.”

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The comments marked a forceful pushback against Trump’s claims that Biden abused his power when he was vice president by lobbying Ukraine to dismiss a prosecutor who was investigating a natural gas company on the board of which his son, Hunter Biden, sat.

Biden has said he wanted the prosecutor fired for insufficient efforts to tackle corruption, and no evidence has emerged to suggest he acted to benefit his son.

While Trump and some conservative allies on Capitol Hill have continued to repeat the president's allegations, it is Trump's own dealings with Ukraine that have led to an impeachment inquiry in the House.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiDemocratic senator to party: 'A little message discipline wouldn't kill us' Overnight Health Care: New wave of COVID-19 cases builds in US | Florida to lift all coronavirus restrictions on restaurants, bars | Trump stirs questions with 0 drug coupon plan Overnight Defense: Appeals court revives House lawsuit against military funding for border wall | Dems push for limits on transferring military gear to police | Lawmakers ask for IG probe into Pentagon's use of COVID-19 funds MORE (D-Calif.) last week opened a formal impeachment investigation into Trump after it was revealed in a July phone call that he pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to work with Rudy Giuliani Rudy GiulianiThe Hill's Campaign Report: GOP set to ask SCOTUS to limit mail-in voting CIA found Putin 'probably directing' campaign against Biden: report Democrats fear Russia interference could spoil bid to retake Senate MORE, his personal attorney, and Attorney General William Barr Bill BarrFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Why a backdoor to encrypted data is detrimental to cybersecurity and data integrity FBI official who worked with Mueller raised doubts about Russia investigation MORE to open an inquiry into the former vice president.

A declassified copy of a whistleblower complaint regarding the call said that multiple people understood that a future phone call or meeting between the two presidents “would depend on whether Zelensky showed willingness to ‘play ball,’” and that “multiple White House officials with direct knowledge” of the call were alarmed that Trump appeared to be using his office for his personal political gain and sought to bury the transcript of the conversation.

Biden panned Trump at the Wednesday rally, saying he’s abusing his power because he’s “afraid” he’ll lose reelection in 2020.

“He did it because like every bully in history, he’s afraid,” Biden said. “He’s afraid of just how badly I would beat him next November.”

“It’s not about Donald Trump’s antics. It’s about what has brought Donald Trump and the nation to this sobering moment in our history — and to the choice facing us in 2020,” Biden added. “What has brought us here is simply this: the abuse of power. The abuse of power is the defining characteristic of the Trump presidency.”

Biden has sought throughout his campaign to focus his ire on Trump in an attempt to cast himself as the crowded 2020 Democratic field’s best chance to beat the president in a general election.

The former vice president, however, is facing a surging challenge from Sen. Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth WarrenOvernight Defense: Appeals court revives House lawsuit against military funding for border wall | Dems push for limits on transferring military gear to police | Lawmakers ask for IG probe into Pentagon's use of COVID-19 funds On The Money: Half of states deplete funds for Trump's 0 unemployment expansion | EU appealing ruling in Apple tax case | House Democrats include more aid for airlines in coronavirus package Warren, Khanna request IG investigation into Pentagon's use of coronavirus funds MORE (D-Mass.), who has recently leapfrogged him in a handful of polls.