lay a trap for

“North Korea is trying to lay a trap for the Biden administration,” Easley said.

The moves, some outside experts said, are meant to lay a trap for Mr. Biden, forcing him either to pay a domestic political cost if he unwinds them or to sour relations with Beijing if he does not.

The president has sought to scapegoat anti-fascist protesters, and there would be little surprise if he returned to Nixonian law-and-order rhetoric to rally Republicans and lay a trap for Democrats, portraying them as “soft on crime”.

“What Sullivan did was lay a trap for him,” Professor Jillson said.

An escaped militant’s attempt to claim an inheritance gives a German agent the chance to lay a trap for a well-regarded Muslim scholar who is suspected of financing terrorists.