LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former President Donald Trump will campaign in western states Friday as his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris She turned her attention to one of the top prizes in the East: Pennsylvania.
Trump plans to hold a news conference in the morning at his Los Angeles-area golf club, then travel to Northern California for a charity event, followed by a rally in Las Vegas, the largest city in the swing state of Nevada.
Harris, meanwhile, will travel to Johnstown and Wilkes-Barre on Friday, looking to capitalize on his momentum after Tuesday night's debateIt's her second straight day of rallies after holding two events in North Carolina, another swing state, on Thursday.
Speaking in Charlotte, Harris won for her debate performance, in which she taunted Trump and put him on the defensive. Recalling a moment during a campaign rally in North Carolina, she mocked Trump for saying he had a “concept plan” to replace the Affordable Care Act.
“Concepts. Concepts. No real plan. Concepts,” she said as the crowd roared with laughter.
In the 24 hours after her debate with Trump, she raised $47 million from 600,000 donors, according to her campaign.
Harris said the candidates “ought to have another debate for the sake of the voters.” But Trump said he would not agree to meet with her again.
Trump's morning event will be the second Friday in a row that the Republican has scheduled a news conference, though the former president did not take a single question in his most recent appearance in New York. Instead, the Republican spent nearly an hour railing against women who have accused him of sexual misconduct over the years, reviving the allegations in the public eye just days before his debate with Harris.
It is unclear whether Trump plans to talk about any specific topics at Friday's press conference, but his campaign has added more to his schedule since early August as he tries to contrast himself with Harris. She has not held a press conference since becoming a presidential candidate, and the Democrat has given only one in-depth interview.
Her campaign said she would begin giving more interviews to local media outlets focused on swing states.
After visiting his golf club in upscale Rancho Palos Verdes, Trump will head this afternoon to a charity event in the Bay Area town of Woodside hosted by billionaire software developer Tom Siebel and his wife, Stacey Siebel. Tom Siebel is a second cousin of Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, and Harris' surrogate mother.
Participants will pay at least $3,300 per person or raise $10,000 for the campaign, according to the invitation. The biggest backers will get a photo, reception, and panel discussion, paying $500,000 for a couple to serve on the organizing committee or $150,000 for a person to serve as a co-host.
This is Trump's second fundraising stop in California in recent days, where he is trying to get back at Harris.
Even before she raked in the post-debate cash, the vice president reported raising $361 million in August from nearly 3 million donors, her first full month as a candidate after replacing President Joe Biden. Trump raised $130 million in the same period. Harris’s campaign reported entering September with $109 million more on hand than Trump.
He will travel to Las Vegas on Friday night, where he will hold a rally downtown. Trump was in town last month for a brief stop to promote his proposal to eliminate federal taxes on workers’ tips, a move expected to resonate particularly in a tourist city where much of the service-based economy includes workers who rely on tips. On Thursday, he announced a new proposal to eliminate taxes on overtime pay.
The swing state is one of those Trump narrowly lost in 2016 and 2020, and it is among about a half-dozen states that both campaigns are focusing on.
The Republican presidential slate has visited Clark County, Nevada, four times since June. Trump has held three campaign events in Las Vegas, and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, held a rally in suburban Henderson in July.
The Democratic ticket has also visited four times, though two of those campaign events were hosted by President Joe Biden before he dropped out of the race. Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, held a joint rally in Las Vegas last month, and Walz was in town again on Tuesday.
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A lengthy report from Washington. Associated Press writers Michael R. Blood in Los Angeles, Chris Megerian in Washington and Tom Verdin in Sacramento contributed to this report.