I watched the clip. Maddow says she thinks people close to Joe are feeding him false information to keep him in the race. Maddow is probably correct.
I can image:
Jill: Joe, every poll shows you ahead of Trump. You’ll win in a landslide!
Hunter: Jill is right. Hang in there, pops. And how about that pardon?
People closest to Brandon, his family members, having much to hide, are most definitely telling him to stay. Brandon may forget things he needs to keep hidden in order to stay out of jail but family members are there to remind him why he needs to stay.
Then come the staffers fearing that in the current environment, if they lose their jobs, they will be unlikely to land on their feet somewhere else. Therefore, they have to stay with Brandon.