He wasn't weathering the storm. The powers that be were faced with an impossible decision in naming his successor. They probably eventually had to get themselves good and drunk so they could swallow having Kamala at the top of the ticket. They have been doing just as much work to keep her out of the spotlight as they have for Biden.

They really didn't want to pick her. I will bet they were waiting until the absolute last minute for this hoping to convince someone like Big Mike to accept it first.