With the stakes so high, the administration was quick to play defense. Asked whether Trump’s invitation to the Chinese was unconstitutional, a senior administration official told RCP, “Not sure why it would be.” So, was the request calculated? He was exposing hypocrisy, a source close to the White House insisted.

“Democrats and media have no shame coordinating fake attacks on Kavanaugh and Trump,” the Republican source told RCP,” yet suddenly they are aghast that the president ask for people to look into real corruption allegations against Biden.”…

If the Chinese find or create dirt from those business dealings, the next thing they could do is name their price. And while Kazianis noted that the most likely scenario is that the Chinese would stand down for fear of offending a future Democratic president, if the Chinese come to the trade-war bargaining table, they would be looking for a detente.

“I would not be shocked if they did come up with something, and it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that Trump may reward them with an interim deal until the end of the election and maybe get more aggressive afterward,” he said. “But let’s put it this way, if I was Joe Biden’s son, I’d be a little worried.”