Trump rehashes baseless claims about Biden in barrage of pre-debate bluster

Former US president uses familiar tactics of denigrating Biden and debate hosts to minimise the event's importance

Donald Trump has unleashed a fusillade of baseless accusations against Joe Biden and CNN moderators ahead of Thursday's first US presidential debate in an apparent pre-bunking" exercise designed to have his excuses ready-made if he is declared the loser.

In a familiar rehash of tactics used in previous campaigns, the presumptive Republican nominee has intensified demands that Biden should take a drug test and accused him of being higher than a kite" in last January's state of the union address, when the president won praise for an energetic performance.