President Biden’s family is urging him to stay in the race and keep fighting despite last week’s disastrous debate performance, even as some members of his clan privately expressed exasperation at how he was prepared for the event by his staff, people close to the situation said on Sunday.
Biden huddled with his wife, children and grandchildren at the Camp David presidential retreat, in western Maryland, while he tried to figure out how to tamp down anxiety within his Democratic Party.
While his relatives were acutely aware of how poorly he did against GOP challenger Donald J. Trump, they argued that he could still show the country that he remains capable of serving for another four years.
Mr. Biden has been soliciting ideas from advisers about how to proceed, and his staff has been discussing whether he should hold a news conference or sit for interviews to defend himself and change the narrative, but nothing has been decided yet.
The campaign scheduled what could be a critical call with its national fund-raising committee for Monday to calm nerves and take temperatures.
One of the strongest voices imploring Biden to resist pressure to drop out was his son Hunter Biden, whom the president has long leaned on for advice, said one of the people informed about the discussions, who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity.
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