US President Donald Trump has said China “will do anything they can” to make him lose his re-election bid, stepping up his criticism of Beijing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In a White House interview with Reuters news agency, he said Beijing faced a “lot” of possible consequence from the US for the outbreak.
He said China should have let the world know about the contagion much sooner.
Mr Trump himself is often accused of not doing enough to tackle the crisis.
Mr Trump also said he is sceptical of data indicating Mr Biden would win.
“I don’t believe the polls,” the president said. “I believe the people of this country are smart. And I don’t think that they will put a man in who’s incompetent.”
US media reported earlier in the day that Mr Trump had erupted at political advisers last Friday evening about internal polling that showed him losing in critical states.
His aides have doubts about whether Mr Trump will win crucial battlegrounds such as Florida, Wisconsin and Arizona, while some of his re-election team have all but given up hope of success in Michigan, according to the Associated Press news agency.
“I’m not losing to Joe Biden,” Mr Trump reportedly said, inserting an expletive, during a conference call with campaign officials.
The US president also reportedly snapped at his campaign manager, Brad Parscale, who had called in from Florida.
He cursed at Mr Parscale and at one point mentioned suing him, according to CNN and the Washington Post, though it is unclear how serious was his threat of legal action.
