Biden news: Russia ‘tried to back Trump in 2020’, as president to hold first press briefing in 65 days

A newly declassified American intelligence report says Russia sought to sway US voters towards Donald Trump and away from Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

The assessment from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence says a network of Ukraine-linked individuals connected to the Kremlin perpetrated a 2020 misinformation campaign aimed a "denigrating" Biden similar to its 2016 efforts to undermine public confidence in the electoral process exacerbate sociopolitical divisions.

On Capitol Hill, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warned Democrats that scrapping the chamber’s filibuster rule will lead to a “completely scorched earth” that would see GOP member turns the Biden administration’s agenda into a “100-car pile-up”.

The president himself, meanwhile, hit the road on his Covid-relief "help is here" victory lap, telling reporters he has no plans to visit the US-Mexico border to see what Democrat Senator Joe Manchin is now labelling a "crisis".

The Biden administration has refused to recognize the situation as a "crisis", with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said officials are doing their best to tackle a “difficult” situation.

In Trump-world, the ex-president's inner circle is encouraging him to release a public service announcement on the Covid-19 vaccine as Republican voters increasingly avoid getting the dose.

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