Hillary Clinton

U.S. Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has said she no longer cares what her Republican rival Donald Trump might say and will focus on issues instead.

“I debated him for four and a half hours,” she said, recalling their acrimonious exchanges. “I don’t even think about responding to him anymore.”

She was speaking to reporters aboard her campaign plane.

Mr Trump used a rally in Gettysburg to promise curbs on lobbying and new trade and climate change negotiations.

With just 16 days until the election, much of the recent focus has been on controversies linked to his campaign.

On Saturday, he again promised to sue every woman who had accused him of sexual assault or inappropriate behaviour as soon as his presidential campaign was over.

While the tycoon lags behind Mrs Clinton in opinion polls, he recently narrowed the gap to about four percentage points.

Asked about Mr Trump’s threat to sue his accusers, Mrs Clinton said her focus had turned to helping elect other Democrats on Nov. 8, when Congressional seats are also being contested

“He can say whatever he wants; he can run his campaign however he wants to,” she said.

“I’m going to let the American people decide between what he offers and what we offer.”

The polls may be wrong in Arizona but if they are correct, it may be the start of a Democratic trend that doesn’t just put the state in play in a Clinton 2016 rout scenario, it makes Arizona a legitimate swing state in coming elections.

“The demographics in the state are continuing to change,” says Arizona State University political science professor Richard Herrera.

“If there is another increase in Latino voters, which there almost certainly will be, followed with an increase in party registrants, this could become a real battleground in future elections.”

For Democrats, that’s a dream scenario, giving them new and plentiful paths to electoral success.

For Republicans, it could mean the start of a long-term political nightmare.

Speaking on stage in Pittsburgh, Mrs Clinton called for Americans to unite.