A visibly agitated President Joe Biden arrived on MSNBC Monday Morning for a last-minute interview, batting away questions from the hosts about his ability to remain in the race and ripping fellow Democratic leaders for convening a strategy of how to force him out.

Things got off to a poor start when Biden, speaking by phone, was welcomed on as the Democratic Party’s “presumptive nominee” by “Morning Joe” host Mika Brzezinski. “I’m more than presumptive, I’m gonna be the Democratic nominee,” Biden immediately said during his crisis appearance.

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Brzezinski then asked whether he had been tested “for any age-related illnesses, pre-Parkinson’s or anything like that, that might explain having a night like that where you couldn’t finish sentences,” a follow-up to questions posed to Biden during a pivotal Friday evening interview. Biden declined to answer a question from ABC reporter George Stephanopoulos whether he would agree to undergo a cognitive fitness test by an independent third party.

Biden chuckled before replying caustically, “Look, I had… I was feeling so badly before the debate when I came back they tested me for… I thought maybe I had Covid, maybe an infection or something. I was cleared. Look, I had a bad night, but the fact of the matter is, let me put it this way: if there was something that was wrong that night, it’s not like it’s one night it goes away.

“That’s why I’ve been out, testing myself, testing everywhere I go, going out and making the case. The night of that debate I was out until 2 o’clock in the morning. It drives me nuts people talking about this!” Biden exclaimed, repeating his earlier reason for refusing a cognitive debate.

“The bottom line here is that we’re not going anywhere — I am not going anywhere,” he continued. “I had a bad night. But the fact of the matter is — if there was something that was wrong that night, it’s not like it’s one night and it goes away. That’s why I’ve been out, I’ve been testing myself.”

“Run against me. Announce for president. Challenge me at the convention,” Biden added.

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Biden, 81, has rebuffed calls from liberal media figures and other leaders in his own party to step aside before the Democratic Convention in August. Shortly before his interview, the president released an open letter to top Democrats urging them to “come together” and unify behind his nomination to “defeat Donald Trump.”

“The question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now. And it’s time for it to end. We have one job. And that is to beat Donald Trump. We have 42 days to the Democratic Convention and 119 days to the general election. Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us,” Biden wrote in the letter.

So far, five Democratic members of the House have called on Biden to end his campaign while U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) has convened discussions among his colleagues about how and whether to do the same. On Friday the president said Warner was the “only” senator calling on him to step aside. “No one else is calling on me to do that,” he told Stephanopoulos.