Trump holds press conference after declining further debates 13 September 2024

Donald Trump has held an hour-long news conference at his own golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

It comes a day after he announced he will not participate in another presidential debate

Moments after Trump’s comments, Kamala Harris’s campaign issued a statement saying “we owe it to the voters to have another debate”

Harris and Trump have been on the campaign trail for the first time since they faced-off on ABC News

Polls suggest that most voters believe Harris won the debate, though Trump claimed victory in his announcement that he would not debate her again

There are just over 50 days until the US presidential election

Donald Trump spoke for about an hour today, standing in front of the ocean views of one of his golf courses in California.

Much of that time was the former president delivering a speech on his regular talking points, immigration, crime and various attacks against his political opponent Kamala Harris.

While no major news lines emerged, the event does indicate the continued ramping up of campaigning as we head towards the 5 November election.

The polls are incredible close, and with no more presidential debates on the horizon, we can expect more of these kind of events in the next 52 days.

We’re finishing up with our live coverage for the day, thanks for following along with us.

In the 54 days since Joe Biden endorsed Kamala Harris to take his place in the presidential race – Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, have held a series of campaign events. But neither has held a news conference.

Harris has also not held a solo TV interview, though she has spoken with radio programmes and participated last month in a joint CNN interview alongside Walz.

Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, have sought to draw a contrast in their accessibility to the press, participating in multiple news conferences and solo interviews over the same period of time.