Top U.S. Democrats on Sunday ruled out the possibility of replacing President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee after a feeble debate performance and called on party members to focus instead on the consequences of a second Donald Trump presidency.

After days of hand-wringing about Biden's poor night on stage debating Trump, Democratic leaders firmly rejected calls for their party to choose a younger presidential candidate for the November 5 election.

Biden, 81, meanwhile, was huddling with family members at the Camp David presidential retreat on Sunday.

The New York Times cited people close to the situation as saying that Biden's family was urging him to stay in the race and keep fighting. The paper said some members of his clan privately expressed exasperation at how his staff prepared him for Thursday night's event.

A drumbeat of calls for Biden to step aside has continued since Thursday, and a post-debate CBS poll showed a 10-point jump in the number of Democrats who believe Biden should not be running for president to 46 percent from 36 percent in February.　

(With input from Reuters)

(Cover: U.S. President Joe Biden and former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump participate in the first presidential debate of the 2024 election at CNN's studios in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27, 2024. /CFP)