Trump says 'too late' for another debate against Harris

US presidential candidate Donald Trump has rejected a proposal from Democratic opponent Kamala Harris to face off in another debate, saying it was "too late" to do so.

"The problem with another debate is that it's just too late, voting has already started," the Republican said at a rally in North Carolina, with early voting already underway in three states.

US Vice President Kamala Harris had earlier accepted an invitation from CNN to participate in a debate on 23 October and hoped Republican rival Donald Trump would face her again less than two weeks ahead of the 5 November presidential election, the Democratic candidate's campaign said.

"Vice President Harris is ready for another opportunity to share a stage with Donald Trump, and she has accepted CNN's invitation to a debate on 23 October, Donald Trump should have no problem agreeing to this debate," Jen O'Malley Dillon, the chair of the Harris campaign, said in a statement.

Ms Harris and Mr Trump debated each other for the first time on 10 September, in a contest that polls showed was won by the Democratic nominee.

Mr Trump last week said he would not participate in another debate against Harris before the election.

"THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!" the former president wrote on his social media site Truth Social last Thursday.

Mr Trump debated President Joe Biden in June before his matchup against Ms Harris.

Mr Biden's shaky performance in that debate rattled Democrats and prompted strategists to ask whether their party should take the unprecedented step of replacing the 81-year old president as their candidate.

Mr Biden withdrew from the race for the White House in July.

Harris slams Trump for 'hypocrisy' on abortion

Earlier, Kamala Harris has attacked Republican rival Donald Trump and his party as "hypocrites" over abortion, as the first voters cast their ballots for November's knife-edge US election.

The Democrat unleashed one of the most forceful speeches of her campaign so far as she blamed Mr Trump for an abortion ban in the battleground state of Georgia that she said had caused the deaths of two women.

"And these hypocrites want to start talking about how this is in the best interest of women and children," the vice president told a rally in Atlanta, Georgia to cheers from a mainly female audience.

"Well, where have you been? Where have you been when it comes to taking care of the women and children of America, where have you been? How dare they," she added.

Since replacing President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket two months ago, Ms Harris has repeatedly focused on what she calls "Trump abortion bans."

Mr Trump has frequently bragged on the campaign trail that his three Supreme Court picks paved the way for the 2022 overturning of the national right to abortion.

At least 20 states have since brought in full or partial restrictions, with Georgia banning most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

Ms Harris doubled down on the issue at a raucous rally in Madison, a liberal-leaning city in swing state Wisconsin where she slammed the bans as "immoral."

"This is a healthcare crisis, and Donald Trump is the architect," she said.

In both speeches Ms Harris mentioned Amber Nicole Thurman, a 28-year-old mother-of-one from Georgia who developed a rare complication from abortion pills and died during emergency surgery in 2022.

An official Georgia state committee blamed the fatal outcome on a "preventable" lag in performing a critical procedure.

"We will make sure Amber is not just remembered as a statistic," Ms Harris said in Atlanta, a day after meeting Ms Thurman's family during a campaign event hosted by talk show icon Oprah Winfrey.

Early voting begins in three states

Ms Harris's campaign speeches came as three states - Virginia, Minnesota and South Dakota - began early voting 46 days before election day in what is an agonizingly close race.

"The election is basically here," she told Madison rallygoers. "It's basically here and we have work to do, to energise, to organise and to mobilise."

Former president Trump has previously cast doubt on early voting and mail voting to back his false claims that he won the 2020 election against Mr Biden.

Most US states permit in-person voting or mail-in voting to allow people to deal with scheduling conflicts or an inability to cast their ballots on election day itself, 5 November.

Dozens of people waited at a polling station in the centre of Arlington, Virginia, just outside the capital Washington.

"I'm excited," said Michelle Kilkenny, 55, adding that voting early, "especially on day one, helps the campaign and raises the enthusiasm level."

Ann Spiker, 71, told AFP she usually cast her ballot by mail "but I'm going to vote today because it's so exciting."

The Democratic supporter added: "I can't believe we can pick Donald Trump, when I think about it, I become very worried. That's why we're out and doing what we can."

Mr Trump, 78, faces criminal charges for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 result, after which his supporters violently stormed the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.

Trump blames Jewish voters for potential loss

Every vote will count in the race, whose result Mr Trump has once again refused to say he will accept.

Ms Harris, 59, has erased Mr Trump's lead since sensationally replacing Mr Biden as the Democratic candidate in July, pulling neck-and-neck with the Republican.

The result is expected to hinge on just seven crucial swing states, including Georgia and Wisconsin.

Mr Trump however sought to lay the blame for any potential loss at the door of Jewish American voters, sparking outrage.

"If I don't win this election... in my opinion the Jewish people would have a lot to do with a loss," Mr Trump told an anti-Semitism event on Thursday, repeating his grievance that Jewish voters have historically leaned towards the Democrats.

The White House slammed his comments.

"It is abhorrent to traffic in dangerous tropes or engage in scapegoating at any time - let alone now, when all leaders have an obligation to fight back against the tragic worldwide rise in anti-Semitism," White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement.