US election: Trump camp on attack ahead of debate

US election: Trump camp on attack ahead of debate

Media captionWhile some Trump supporters remain loyal, others are changing their vote

US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his team have come out fighting after a slew of attacks over his obscene remarks about women.

Mr Trump is due to meet his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the second presidential debate on Sunday night.

His adviser Rudy Giuliani said Mr Trump may well bring up Mrs Clinton’s alleged role in discrediting women who accused her husband Bill of sexual abuse.

A 2005 recording of Mr Trump reveals him bragging about groping women.

At least 33 senior Republicans – including senators, members of Congress, and state governors – have withdrawn their support since the video surfaced on Friday.

Mr Trump tweeted a link to a video in which a woman accuses former president Bill Clinton of rape in 1978 while he was attorney general of Arkansas.

Mr Clinton has denied her claims of rape when they first emerged in 1999.

Some Republicans are calling for Mr Trump to quit the presidential race. Utah Senator Mike Lee said the Republican Party had to find another candidate or it would not win the White House.

“We’ve got candidates who can do it. There’s still time to do it, but we have to actually do it,” he told NBC’s Meet the Press.

Mr Trump, who gave a video apology over the 2005 recording, has said there is “zero chance I’ll quit”.

A number of his supporters booed a party unity rally in Wisconsin on Saturday night, given by House Speaker Paul Ryan. Mr Ryan disinvited Mr Trump to attend the event after the tape revelations.

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In his video apology, Mr Trump gave a hint that he would bring up more lurid allegations in Sunday’s debate saying: “Bill Clinton has actually abused women and Hillary Clinton has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims. We will discuss this more in the coming days.”

Mr Giuliani, former New York mayor, told US media that Mr Trump would not hesitate to describe Mr Clinton’s abuse in criminal terms during the debate.

“Both sides have sinned, so how about we put that behind us?” he told NBC’s Meet the Press.

Hillary Clinton’s camp has not responded to the allegations.

Farage says Trump ‘alpha male boasting’


Warning: The rest of this article contains some graphic language


The tape recording of Mr Trump dates back to 2005 when he was appearing as a guest on a soap opera.

In it he says, “you can do anything” to women “when you’re a star” and is heard saying “grab them by the pussy”.

The recording, posted by the Washington Post, overshadowed the release of transcripts of Mrs Clinton’s speeches to private events, by the whistle-blowing site Wikileaks.

Media captionTrump apologises for lewd comments and vows to be a “better man”
Media captionDonald Trump makes offensive comments about women

Mr Trump’s third wife Melania – whom he married a few months before the recording and who was pregnant at the time – has called his comments “unacceptable and offensive”. However, she said she had accepted his apology.

Former Republican presidential candidate John McCain and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have joined the growing list of Republican politicians who have deserted him.

Some Republicans say they will “write in” Mike Pence, Mr Trump’s vice-presidential running mate, on the ballot sheet instead as a symbolic show of opposition to his candidacy.

Who is ahead in the polls?

Headshot of Hillary Clinton

49%

Hillary Clinton

Headshot of Donald Trump

45%

Donald Trump