A smarter pick against Harris would have been Haley. Of course, Trump picked Vance before it was announced Harris would be replacing Biden, and I’m pretty damn sure the Dems planned this out so that would be the case.
I think assuming the Dems planned any of this is extremely generous. It’s working out okay for them, but I think the simpler explanation is that Biden stepped down because he wasn’t physically able to do the job and he was going to get forced out if he hadn’t gone willingly. If they were doing any actual planning, they would have forced a competitive primary. Harris wouldn’t be on the ticket if they were that competent.
I think the claim is that the planning started after the disastrous debate. The inner circle of the DEM party knew he was going out, but was orchestrating a “he isn’t going anywhere, he will remain our nominee”-narrative in the media before and during the RNC.
Ah, that makes more sense. Could easily see them reacting to that debate and coming up with a strategy to turn it to their advantage in the near-term. That sort of relatively reactive and opportunistic planning should be within the Democrats’ capabilities, even if their long-term strategic thinking is questionable.
