Biden news live: President praised for backing vaccine patents waiver

The celebrated CNN anchor, Jake Tapper, has indicated to his colleagues that he might ban Republicans from appearing on his show if they “are not willing to stick to standards and facts.”

The anchor of CNN’s The Lead told hosts John Berman and Brianna Keilar: “How am I supposed to believe anything they say?”

Mr Tapper asked the New Day hosts: “If they’re willing to lie about Joe Biden wanting to steal your hamburgers and QAnon and the Big Lie about the election, what are they not willing to lie about?”

Maroosha Muzaffar reports:

Antony Blinken has said that the US will “stand up” to uphold the “rules-based international system” amid tensions with China.

Appearing on Radio 4, Mr Blinken said: “We’re not trying to contain China, we’re not trying to hold it back – we recognise that countries have relationship with China, interests with China – we’re not saying you have to choose between China and the US.

“But here’s what we are saying: We’re in favour of upholding certain ideas, in particular this so-called rules-based international system that we and the UK among others have heavily invested in for generations. Whenever anyone tries to undermine that system by not playing by the rules… then we will stand up to it.

“This is not directed at China, it’s directed at upholding that rules-based order… that’s been the best guarantor of peace, progress and stability that the world has seen.”

Asked about whether this was possible while continuing to trade with China, Mr Blinken said countries have to be “careful” about the nature of this investment. 

Asked about President Vladimir Putin, Antony Blinken said the government “will respond” if Russia acts aggressively but that the Biden administration would “prefer a more stable relationship”.

Mr Blinken told Radio 4: “We’re less focused on President Putin or any one individual and more focused on Russia’s actions. What President Biden has said repeatedly is that if Russia acts recklessly or aggressively… as it did with interference in our elections, as it did with Mr Navalny… then we will respond. 

“We would prefer a more stable and predictable relationship and if Russia chooses that path there are areas where we can cooperate in our mutual interest. But it is really focused on Russia’s actions.”

Antony Blinken stressed the Biden administration’s “seriousness” in wanting to return to the Iran nuclear deal.

“We’ve been engaged in Vienna for some weeks… indirectly with Iran… we’ve demonstrated our seriousness of wanting to get back into the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)”, stressing “compliance for compliance”.

“What we don’t yet know is if Iran is prepared to make the same decision and to move forward”, Antony Blinken told Radio 4, adding that US teams will meet again in the following days to discuss further.

Pressed on whether the US would “stand in the way” if the UK found a way to “hand over money” that it owes to Iran, Mr Blinken called it a “sovereign decision”.

Asked about whether the Biden administration’s trade policy is similar to Donald Trump’s but “politer” Antony Blinken stressed the US government’s focus on collaboration and “looking forward”.

Listings issues ranging from the climate crisis to the coronavirus pandemic, Mr Blinken told Radio 4 that “not a single one can be solved by counties acting alone – even the US or the UK”.

“There’s a greater premium [than in any time before] on cooperation, on collaboration, on working together. That’s a driving part of the president’s foreign policy.

“That is why we’ve been re-engaging immediately with our allies and partners and as well in the multilateral systems – the United Nations. That’s what’s driving us.”

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has said “there is no closer relationship” than that between the UK and the US and that the countries are “profoundly in sync”.

Speaking to Radio 4, Mr Blinken was asked about a trade agreement between the countries, saying that the US trade negotiator has “just got on the job”.

Mr Blinken said: “We want to make sure that any agreements we reach are consistent with the principles that President Biden has agreed – to focus on making sure that these agreements really advance the wellbeing of our workers and their families.”

He said that the country will be looking “to the best of its ability” to ensure that the “tremendous gains” of the Good Friday Agreement are sustained and that the “economic and political wellbeing is taken fully into account”.

The director-general of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) has said a waiver could cause a dangerous precedent that could cause more hard than good.

Thomas Cueni told the BBC Radio 4 programme that he was “deeply concerned” that it would risk “compromising the safety of vaccines” and it would be “disruptive” as there are already bottlenecks and supply issues.

A group of around 100 countries led by India and South Africa have been trying to get patents waived but were met with opposition from US, UK, EU.

It has barely been four months since a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol and tried to overturn the election results, but a “disgraceful” feeling of political “indifference” to what happened that day has set in, according to an emotional letter a Washington DC police officer sent members of Congress on Wednesday.

Hello, and welcome to The Independent’s rolling US politics coverage.