To be sure, Trump has delivered painful blows to Chinese President Xi Jinping. His trade and technology wars are demolishing US-China commercial relations, and his administration’s support for Taiwan has infuriated Chinese leaders. But as American voters prepare to head to the polls on November 3, Trump seemingly has one more gift to give to Xi: an election meltdown.
In the run-up to this referendum on his presidency, Trump has repeatedly refused to commit unequivocally to accepting its outcome. He has used his presidential bully pulpit to try to delegitimise voting by mail, and even hinted that the US Supreme Court, which now has a 6-3 conservative majority following the Senate’s October 26 confirmation of Trump’s recent nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, would intervene and presumably deliver him a second term.
