Trump criticises Harris in California press conference

Former US president Donald Trump has railed against Vice President Kamala Harris, unleashing a litany of attacks his aides had suggested he would focus on during their debate earlier this week.

Speaking at what was billed as a news conference at his Los Angeles-area golf club after days of criticism of his performance on stage, Trump accused Harris of having been soft on crime in her previous positions.

Before she served as vice president, Harris represented California in the Senate and also served as the state’s attorney general and the district attorney of San Francisco.

“She destroyed San Francisco and she destroyed the state,” Trump charged.

He also assailed the anchors from US broadcaster ABC who moderated the debate after praising his club, perched on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

He will travel later on Friday to northern California for a fundraiser, followed by a rally in Las Vegas, the largest city in swing state Nevada.

Trump was campaigning in western states on Friday as Harris keeps her focus on one of the biggest battleground prizes in the east: Pennsylvania.

She will head to Johnstown and Wilkes-Barre on Friday, campaigning in counties where Trump won in 2016 and 2020, as she tries to capitalise on her momentum after Tuesday night’s debate.

It is her second day of back-to-back rallies after holding two events in North Carolina, another swing state, on Thursday.

Her campaign is aiming to hit every market in every battleground state over four days, with stops by Harris, her running mate Minnesota governor Tim Walz and other surrogates in Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Georgia.

While speaking in Charlotte, Harris took a victory lap for her debate performance in which she needled Trump and kept him on the defensive.

Recounting one moment while campaigning in North Carolina, she mocked Trump for saying he had “concepts of a plan” for replacing the Affordable Care Act.

“Concepts. Concepts. No actual plan. Concepts,” she said as the crowd roared with laughter.

Her campaign said she raised $US47 million ($A70 million) from 600,000 donors in the 24 hours after her debate with Trump.

Harris said the candidates “owe it to voters to have another debate”.

But Trump said he would not agree to face off with her again.

His campaign has been beefing up his schedule of appearances since early August as he tries to contrast himself with Harris.

She has not held a news conference since becoming a presidential candidate and the Democrat has sat for just one in-depth interview.

Her campaign has said she will start doing more interviews with local media outlets in battleground states.

On Friday night, Trump heads to Las Vegas, where he will have a rally in the city’s downtown area.

Trump was in the city last month for a brief stop to promote his proposal to end federal taxes on workers’ tips, something that is expected to especially resonate in the tourist city, where much of the service-based economy includes workers who rely on tips.

He announced a new proposal on Thursday to end taxes on overtime pay.

The swing state is one that Trump narrowly lost in 2016 and 2020 and is among about half a dozen that both campaigns are heavily focused on.

Harris is spending time on Friday in two patches of Pennsylvania that have been trending Republican over the last several elections.

Harris arrived this afternoon in Johnstown in Cambria County, a once Democratic-leaning county that Republicans have won by an increasingly wide margin over the last three elections.

Later, she will hold a rally in Wilkes-Barre in Luzerne County.

Trump took Luzerne by 14 points in 2020 over President Joe Biden and 19 points in 2016 over the Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.