Trailing in the polls, Trump targets Biden at White House press event

United States President Donald Trump unleashed a torrent of criticism on his opponent in the presidential election to be held in November -- Joe Biden, turning the press conference into a campaign event.

In a long, disjointed monologue of almost an hour, Trump -- who is trailing Biden in the polls 110 days before the vote -- read out a long list of allegations against his rival, accusing him of drifting to the "radical left" and painting an apocalyptic picture of the US under his presidency.

He accused Biden of "fawning" over China and wanting to "kill" the US energy sector, said his policies would "demolish" the economy, and once again tried to implicate his son Hunter by alluding to his role on the board of a Ukrainian company accused of graft.

"Where is Hunter?" he asked.

Trump alternated his attacks with fulsome praise for what he sees as his own successes.

That included the wall built on part of the border with Mexico, which he claimed had helped to stem the number of COVID-19 cases in the United States.

He also praised his own reaction to the global pandemic, claiming his administration's actions have saved "millions" of lives, despite the US remaining by far the most affected country in absolute terms.

When asked if he saw himself as an underdog, he said, "No, I don't."

Then, decrying the results of multiple national polls as "fake," he said "I think we have really good poll numbers."

"I think that the enthusiasm now is greater and maybe far greater than it was in 2016," he continued -- though he admitted that many voters "don't want to talk about it... and I fully understand that."

Even so, he claimed, "I think you have a silent majority the likes of which this country has never seen before. This is a very important election.

"I think we have a great chance."

(with inputs from AFP)