Members of President Joe Biden‘s family urged him to stay in the 2024 race this weekend at Camp David after his shaky debate performance last Thursday rattled Democrats, according to a new report on Sunday.
Sources told The New York Times that Biden’s relatives argued Biden is still capable of serving another four years in the White House despite acknowledging how dismally he did in his face-off against former President Donald Trump.
One person familiar with the discussion said Hunter Biden, the president’s son who was recently convicted of gun crimes and faces another trial on tax charges, was one of the most fervent opponents to his father dropping out.
The report also noted that President Biden has been soliciting ideas from aides on how to proceed and staff members are debating whether he should hold a news conference or sit for interviews in an effort to reassure the public.
Many Democrats are reportedly panicking about the election after 81-year-old Biden’s halting debate presentation — which sources close to the president suggested during the event was due to him suffering from a cold.
There is growing pressure on Biden to drop out, including from donors and The New York Times’ editorial board, and give the party the opportunity to pick another person to be selected as the nominee at its convention in August.
Post-debate polling from CBS News and YouGov showed 72% of registered voters do not believe Biden has the mental and cognitive health to serve as president. Half of the respondents said the same of Trump, who is 78.
NBC News reported earlier in the weekend that Biden was expected to discuss the future of his re-election effort with members of his family at Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland on Sunday.
Biden’s campaign responded by pointing out how the trip was planned last week and referring to a post-debate memo from its chairwoman, Jen O’Malley, expressing confidence in Biden’s ability to defeat Trump.
A senior Biden official told CNN the president’s family, including children and grandchildren, were expected to be photographed by well-known photographer Annie Leibovitz during the visit to the Camp David retreat.
Katie Rogers, one of the authors of The New York Times report, claimed on X earlier in the day that the Biden family “spent morning not having a summit but in hair and makeup” for the photo shoot.
She later posted, “There is real anger within the Biden family and among close allies about how the president was staffed and prepared ahead of the debate, per people familiar. Biden himself is not stewing, trying to move forward.”
The report said that Biden’s top adviser Ron Klain expressed a 100% certainty that the president will stay in the race. Klain added, “Big-money donors don’t get to dictate the nominee of the Democratic Party.”
