Veterans respond to Biden claiming he's been 'in and out of battles': 'Don't make it about you'

President Biden made a gaffe at the White House Fourth of July barbecue Thursday, claiming to have been 'in and out of battles' to military service members and their families. (Getty Images)

President Biden claimed Thursday he's been "in and out of battles," while addressing an audience of military service members and their families at Thursday's White House Fourth of July Barbecue. 

"And by the way, I've been all over the world with you. I've been in and out of battles," the president, who never served in the military, though as Commander-in-Chief, met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine in February 2023 and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel in October 2023.

It's not the first time Biden has come under fire for remarks to military service members.

In 2019, Biden was criticized for conflating and misrepresenting war stories after the Washington Post exposed a "moving but false war story" told on the campaign trail. Biden, then the former vice president and candidate for president, later defended what he said, saying the "central point" was accurate. 

Veterans 4 America First Institute, a nonprofit veterans' group, responded to Biden's Fourth of July claims in an interview with Fox News Digital.