Republicans accused of cynical ploy in blaming fentanyl crisis on Biden

Republican politicians have been accused of exploiting the tragedy of America’s fentanyl crisis by blaming Joe Biden for the rising death toll, and linking it to his immigration policies and populist anger over the US’s troubled southern border.

Critics say Republican leaders are guilty of a cynical political ploy by misrepresenting an increase in asylum seekers as a cause of the serious problem of cross-border drug smuggling driving a huge US public health crisis.

Fentanyl kills about 70,000 Americans a year. It is the leading cause of record drug overdose deaths in...