Trump uses briefing to score political points

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday turned what was expected to be a briefing on the novel coronavirus pandemic into a lengthy attack on China and former vice-president Joe Biden, who is leading him in most national polls in the race for president.

Trump said on Monday that he planned to make pandemic briefings a regular fixture in the White House briefing room again after his months-long hiatus from participating in daily updates.

But on Wednesday, in the second day since the briefings resumed, for the better part of an hour in front of reporters in the White House Rose Garden, Trump gave what was largely a live political advertisement for his reelection campaign.

Trump cast wide blame for a nationwide surge in cases, pointing to racial justice protests, travelers from Mexico and young bar-goers.

He said cases among young people first started to rise "shortly after demonstrations". He added that the protests following the death of George Floyd "presumably triggered a broader relaxation of mitigation efforts nationwide".

Trump also encouraged people to wear masks. He has worn a mask once in public, but this week started encouraging face coverings on a wider scale.

Trump opened the briefing by announcing that he will end preferential treatment for Hong Kong in trade and travel in response to a new security law for the region.

He then attacked China on several fronts, and sharply criticized Biden for what he said were pro-China comments.

A polling aggregation on Wednesday showed the president's disapproval rating at 55.7 percent and that he is trailing Biden nationally in election polls by 8.4 percentage points, according to RealClearPolitics.

The Trump administration on Wednesday announced a nearly $2 billion contract with the US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and a smaller German biotechnology company for up to 600 million doses of a potential coronavirus vaccine.

Meanwhile, Biden on Wednesday called Trump the country's "first" racist president.

In a question-and-answer session with the Service Employees International Union, Biden accused Trump of being a racist and spreading racism by blaming China for the outbreak.

"What Trump has done in his spreading of racism－the way he deals with people based on the color of their skin, their national origin, where they're from－is absolutely sickening," Biden said in a virtual discussion with union members.

"No sitting president has ever done this. Never, never, never," Biden said. "No Republican president has done this. No Democratic president. We've had racists, and they've existed, they've tried to get elected president. He's the first one that has."

New mask deal

Meanwhile, California will spend an additional $315 million on protective masks through a contract with a Chinese manufacturer.

Governor Gavin Newsom announced the deal with BYD on Wednesday as he touted California's efforts to procure masks for healthcare and other essential workers. He signed a $1 billion contract with BYD in April and the first masks began arriving last month after delays.

US deaths from the coronavirus rose by more than 1,100 for a second day in a row on Wednesday, including record one-day rises in fatalities in Alabama, California, Nevada and Texas, according to a Reuters tally.

More than 143,000 people in the US have died from COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, a toll that public health experts said will likely rise in several states.

Ai Heping in New York and agencies contributed to this story.