Trump declines Fox News request for another debate with Harris

Brajesh Upadhyay

BBC News, Washington

Donald trump has said that "there will be no rematch" with Kamala Harris before the 5 November election.

The former president was apparently responding to an invitation from Fox News to participate in a possible second debate with the vice-president and Democratic challenger.

Trump also rejected a past invitation from CNN for a debate, accepted by Harris.

In two back-to-back rallies on Wednesday, the former president once again repeated some of his falsehoods regarding hurricane relief efforts.

In a rare live TV interview, Harris suggested it was “dangerous” and “unconscionable” for Trump and his allies to spread misinformation about the federal response.

Meanwhile, Kamala Harris has become the first presidential candidate to raise $1bn (£765m) in fewer than 80 days since she entered the race, multiple outlets reported citing anonymous sources. It's more than Donald Trump has announced raising in all of 2024.

We're going to pause our US political coverage here, but join us again tomorrow when Harris heads to Nevada for a townhall with Hispanic voters and Trump will be in the key swing state of Michigan. We will also bring updates from Pittsburgh where former President Barack Obama kicks off a multi-state campaign tour for Harris.

In the meantime, follow us for the latest on Hurricane Milton that has made landfall in Florida as a dangerous category three storm.

Trump brings up Afghan man's arrest to attack Harris

At his rally, Trump repeats his claim that criminals and terrorists are entering the US along with illegal immigrants. He uses the arrest of an Afghan man accused of plotting an Election Day attack to bolster his claim.

The suspect, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, is a citizen of Afghanistan residing in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, according to prosecutors. They allege he consumed Islamic State propaganda and attempted to buy firearms and ammunition to carry out an attack in a public place. Tawhedi entered the US in September 2021 on a special immigrant visa, the FBI said in legal documents.

"This is the people we’ve brought in," he says. He blames Harris for allowing Tawhedi into the country.

“Kamala completely abandoned her duty to law abiding Americans," he says.

The road to the White House runs through Pennsylvania

Anthony Zurcher

BBC North America correspondent

Donald Trump is holding a second rally in Pennyslvania after addressing his supporters at Scranton, President Joe Biden's hometown.

There's a reason he and his opponent, Kamala Harris, are investing so much time in the state.

Nicknamed the Keystone State, Pennsylvania could in fact be the key to the White House.

With its 19 electoral votes, Pennsylvania – the fifth most populous US state - is the lynchpin of the swing-state electoral firewalls for both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

“It’s the granddaddy of all the swing states,” said former Congressman Patrick Murphy, who represented a northeastern Pennsylvania as a Democrat from 2007 to 2011.

If the Democrats win Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, along with one congressional district in Nebraska, she’s the next president. If the Republicans carry Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia, Trump is back in the White House next year.

Without Pennsylvania, there is no way Trump can win without flipping at least three of the states Joe Biden won in 2020.

Read more about it here.

Harris raises over $1bn in less than 80 days - reports

Kamala Harris has became the first presidential candidate to raise $1bn (£765m) in less than 80 days since she entered the race, multiple outlets reported citing anonymous sources.

It's more than Donald Trump has announced raising in all of 2024.

The Harris campaign committee, external raised $678.2 million and Trump’s campaign committee, external raised $309.2 million in between January 2023 and 31 August, 2024, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

NBC News reported that Harris's fundraising continued to shoot up in September, including $47m in the 24 hours after her debate against Trump on 10 September—her largest one-day haul since entering the race.

Federal election fundraising and spending reports for all candidates will be released later this month.

Why is Trump holding rallies in liberal strongholds ?

Anthony Zurcher

BBC North America correspondent

The presidential election is going to be decided in a handful of battlegrounds states across the US this November. New York and California, both reliably Democratic, are not among them.

So what exactly is Donald Trump doing holding rallies in New York City and Coachella, California, just a few weeks before election day?

While the two states are not in play for the White House, Republican-held congressional districts near both venues are top targets for Democrats in their bid to take back control of the House of Representatives.

Defending those seats could go a long way toward giving Trump a governing majority in Congress if he wins.

The Trump campaign may also figure that the by appearing in these two venues – historic sports arena Madison Square Garden in Manhattan and Calhoun Ranch, home of the massive Coachella music festival – the former president can generate the kind of crowds and national media attention that transcend state borders.

In the home stretch of a tense presidential campaign, however, taking the candidate away from the areas that will make the difference between victory and defeat is a risky proposition.

Donald Trump repeats false claim about hurricane funding and migrants

Lucy Gilder

BBC Verify

Speaking earlier in Scranton, Donald Trump was critical of the government’s response to Hurricane Helene and claimed: “They had no money. Know where they gave the money? To Illegal migrants coming in.”

This is a version of a claim he has made repeatedly that money from the government agency, Fema - intended for hurricane victims - has been given instead to illegal migrants. This is false.

Fema has a Disaster Relief Fund which is ring-fenced to spend on responding to hurricanes and other natural disasters.

It also has a dedicated budget from Congress to be spent on food, shelter and other support for illegal immigrants in the US.

These are two separate funds and Fema has said "No money is being diverted from disaster response needs”.

It has not run out of money either - the agency says it has $11bn left in its disaster relief fund.

Read more about this here.

Border crisis top concern for Scranton voter

Ana Faguy

Reporting from Scranton, Pennsylvania

Illegal immigration is the number one issue for Charlie Spano, a 76-year-old Scranton resident.

He’s at today’s Trump rally because he believes the former president is the only candidate who will get the border crisis “under control”.

Not all migrants are “bad people” but he believes Democratic contender Kamala Harris is supporting immigration policy to gain support, Spano said.

“There is a strong, fierce determination to vote for Trump,” he said. “Voters are determined to take America back.”

Donald Trump and his Republican allies have made the border a focal point of their criticism of Harris, calling her a "failed border czar".

While migrant crossings at the US southern border reached record highs late last year, they have since fallen precipitously.

Trump repeats falsehood about Fema disaster relief

In Scranton, Trump once again repeats the falsehood that disaster relief funds from Fema are being diverted to help illegal immigrants.

"They gave the money to illegal immigrants coming in," he said.

This is not true, and Trump has been criticised by emergency officials and Vice-President Kamala Harris for making this claim in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

Fema said the claims were wrong and the agency has created a new "factchecking" section on its website to respond to misinformation about its work.

The agency has a separate programme it administers that provides housing for migrants but via a separate funding stream.

BBC Verify has done an in-depth analysis of Trump's claims about Fema funding here. The agency has a Disaster Relief Fund that is specifically for responding to natural disasters.

Trump calls Biden stepping aside as candidate a 'coup'

At his rally in Pennsylvania, Trump hits on a refrain he's returned to again and again since Joe Biden stepped aside as the Democratic nominee in July.

He calls Biden's decision "an overthrow" and says "this was the first coup in the history of America."

After a disastrous debate performance against Trump, during which concerns about Biden's age took centre stage, the president faced pressure from within the Democratic Party to step aside as 2024 candidate, including from powerful former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Biden made the decision not to seek re-election, and endorsed Vice-President Kamala Harris to take his place within the Democratic Party shortly after. He stayed on as president - and will remain in that office until January.

Trump says his campaign spent "$150 million destroying Biden" early in the 2024 campaign, but now he is running against Harris. Polls have tightened since Harris entered the race, with the Democrat and Republican running neck-and-neck in key swing states.

In Pennsylvania, a former Democrat now backs Trump

Ana Faguy

Reporting from Scranton, Pennsylvania

I'm here at the Donald Trump rally site in Scranton, Pennsylvania - Joe Biden’s hometown.

Hundreds of people lined up to see Trump speak this afternoon in the all-important swing state.

One of them is Susanne Green, a former Democrat from Lackawanna County who is working as a volunteer at today’s rally.

She says she is now a pro-choice Republican and an ardent supporter of the former president.

“Abortion should be safe, legal and rare,” she said.

“That’s what Melania believes,” she added, referring to the former first lady's recent remarks on abortion rights in her new memoir.

Green believes Trump is the kind of president who supports people’s individual freedoms and, while his personality can be harsh, she thinks he’s a better representative for the country.