CNN reports President Trump “is preparing to go after Hunter Biden for getting lucrative jobs overseas when his father was vice president that he will say the younger Biden was not qualified for. Trump and his allies have repeatedly made unfounded and false claims to allege that the former vice president and his son acted corruptly in Ukraine.”

“Their hope is that it knocks Biden off his game — either causing him to blow up or say something incorrect.”

“Biden’s team has been working with him to be ready for Trump to go after his son in a way he hasn’t had to deal with as directly before. Trump advisers have also spent time working with the President to stay calm if Biden retaliates by invoking Trump’s daughter and son-in-law, both White House aides with no previous government experience. A source familiar with Biden’s prep, however, says his plan is to pivot away from this issue, not engage.”

Joe Biden and his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris released their 2019 federal and state tax returns, hours before the former vice president meets face-to-face with President Trump in the first debate of the 2020 presidential race, The Hill reports.

Yahoo News: “To nip any disaster scenario in the bud, they say, Biden also needs to flip one or more ‘nail-in-the-coffin states’ — that is, the ones that on election night itself could quickly and decisively prove that Trump has no remaining path to victory.”

“Ohio, the site of this year’s first presidential debate, could be Biden’s best option.”

Geoffrey Skelley: “All in all, past surveys and research suggest that The Times’s latest story — which is more significant in scope and covers a more recent part of Trump’s business dealings than past revelations — could put a dent in how the public views Trump’s business acumen. Whether that actually happens may come down to how much sustained media attention the story receives. For example, will the first presidential debate, on Tuesday night, dwell on Trump’s tax returns?”

“If the tax returns do stay in the spotlight, there is reason to think they could hurt Trump electorally. For one, Trump is an underdog for reelection at the moment and the clock is ticking — any day during which he’s not making up ground is a problem. But the malleability of voters’ views of Trump’s business record is also notable because we have reason to think Trump’s business credentials played at least some role in his electoral success in 2016, and may continue to undergird some of his support today.”

Related for members: Why the Trump Tax Story Could Finally Move the Polls.

Aaron Blake notes that the Democratic candidate has carried the Philadelphia suburbs by between 7 and 17 points in every presidential race since 2004.

Trump’s deficit there in the new New York Times-Siena poll is 24 points and in the new Washington Post-ABC News poll is 38 points.

President Trump’s campaign wants Joe Biden’s campaign to allow a third party to inspect the ears of each debater for electronic devices or transmitters, Fox News reports.

Philippe Reines: “Donald Trump is a very bad debater. Donald Trump is very difficult to debate.”

“These two seemingly contradictory statements are equally true. He’s a dangerous opponent. In 2016, it was because he had nothing to lose. Now, it’s because he has everything to lose.”

“I would know. In the last cycle, I had a unique assignment: playing Trump’s stand-in during Hillary Clinton’s mock debates. Before donning the ill-fitting suit I had tailored, my preparation included studying the 11 Republican primary debates in which Trump participated, watching each three times: once start to finish; then only exchanges involving Trump; and finally only Trump, standing at a lectern in my living room with the sound off to focus entirely on his gestures and body language.”