2024 election updates: Trump, Harris hit more battlegrounds

Trump is expected to return to Butler, Pennsylvania, the city of his first assassination attempt, next Saturday for a rally, according to multiple sources familiar with his plans.

The rally is scheduled for Oct. 5.

Trump has long promised to return to Butler to honor the victims who died at his July rally.

"I WILL BE GOING BACK TO BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA, FOR A BIG AND BEAUTIFUL RALLY, HONORING THE SOUL OF OUR BELOVED FIREFIGHTING HERO, COREY, AND THOSE BRAVE PATRIOTS INJURED TWO WEEKS AGO. WHAT A DAY IT WILL BE — FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT! STAY TUNED FOR DETAILS," Trump wrote on his social media platform in July.

NBC News was first to report the news.

ABC News' Katherine Faulders, Lalee Ibssa, Kesley Walsh and Soorin Kim

Vice President Harris will not attend the Al Smith dinner next month in New York, breaking with tradition of major party nominees sharing laughs at the benefit dinner, and will instead be on the campaign trail, a campaign official confirmed to ABC News.

"She is going to be campaigning in a battleground state that day, and the campaign wants to maximize her time in the battlegrounds this close to the election," the official said.

The dinner, which benefits Catholic Charities, is scheduled for Oct. 17. It has become a traditional stop on the presidential campaign trail, with both the Republican and Democratic nominees attending and delivering remarks full of roasts. In recent years, both nominees attended the gala, including in 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020. (The latter was virtual because of the COVID-19 pandemic.)

The official also added that Harris' team informed the dinner's organizers she would be absent, but was willing to attend in a later year as president.

ABC News' Fritz Farrow, Gabrielle Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie

Former first lady Melania Trump will sit down for her first interview of the 2024 election cycle with Fox News' Ainsley Earhardt as she continues to promote her new book.

The interview is set to air on Thursday, Fox announced on Monday.

While Melania Trump has remained relatively quiet this campaign cycle, mainly appearing with the former president at closed-door events, she has been more active online recently as she launches her forthcoming memoir, "Melania."

Her book is scheduled to be released on Oct. 8. Her website describes it in part as "the powerful and inspiring story of a woman who has defined personal excellence, overcome adversity, and carved her own path."

ABC News' Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim and Kelsey Walsh

Trump is again ruling out another debate against Harris, arguing it would be "a very bad thing" for the country.

"Well, I've already done two debates, and they, you know, we're good, but to do a third one, everybody's voting now, and it's very late to be doing a third debate," Trump told Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin in a phone conversation that aired Monday morning.

Harris said over the weekend she accepted an offer from CNN for a debate on Oct. 23.

Her team has also noted that there have been presidential debates in years past in the final weeks before Election Day.

“The final 2020 debate was October 22," the Harris campaign wrote on X. "The proposed CNN debate is October 23."

Trump also debated Hillary Clinton for a third time around the same timeframe: Oct. 19, 2016.