Biden news: President to punish GOP for opposing Covid relief and says Trump left ‘dire’ vaccine issues

US president Joe Biden is stepping up his efforts to promote a $1.9 trillion rescue package as his Democratic allies plot future attack ads aimed at Republicans who oppose their efforts to bail out an economy hard-hit by the Covid pandemic.

In an interview with CBS to coincide with the Super Bowl, Mr Biden admitted the vaccine stockpile left behind by the Donald Trump administration amounted to far less than his team had been led to expect and meant they faced a "dire" situation as the country races to catch up with inoculations against coronavirus.

The president used the same session to pledge a strong stance on China and Iran that will differ from that of his predecessor, expressing a wish to stay in "lockstep" with allies in standing up to the rival superpower while warning Tehran that Washington would not curtail sanctions until it halted its nuclear programme.

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