By Saturday he'd actually lost congressional endorsements. The rally was in Ryan's congressional district.

The poll, conducted after Tuesday's vice presidential debate, marks a climb for Clinton after Quinnipiac's most recent poll on September 26, when she was clinging to a 1 point advantage over Trump. It was a dramatic escalation of personal attacks as he sought to deflect fallout from his own sexually aggressive comments.

The two candidates were to face off in a debate in St. Louis on Sunday. "But it is important for us as a policy not to say as Donald has said, we're going to ban people based on a religion", Clinton said.

Trump has spent more hours in front of a T.V. camera than any Republican presidential candidate other than Ronald Reagan. Perhaps we could return to Trump's taxes, but I don't know how much worse it could get for him - being already painted as a misogynist and a tax evader. The problem with pathological liars is that you never know if they are lying or telling the truth so it's always better to assume they are lying until you can prove otherwise.

After watching his standing slip in the polls after the first debate, Round 2 was supposed to be Trump's chance to turn things around. And he was struggling to overcome deep skepticism among women about his temperament and qualifications to be commander in chief.

Trump has long hinted he would raise Bill Clinton's sexual history at debates.

Clinton, asked about newly released speech transcripts in which she admitted taking different positions on issues in public and in private, said it was Abraham Lincoln's idea first. Moderator Anderson Cooper made note of the 2005 video released last week in which Trump is caught on a live mic saying he kissed women without their permission and grabbed them by their genitals and got away with it because he's a celebrity.

Trump's own running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, declared he could neither condone nor defend the remarks.

The strategy of dredging up Clinton's extramarital affairs, such as those with Monica Lewinsky and Gennifer Flowers, enjoys minimal support within the Republican Party, and top GOP leaders are wary of going down this path. Among them: Ohio Sen. Even so, Trump's "practice town hall" in Sandown, N.H. on Thursday night did not show that Trump has learned how to connect with people the way a town hall format demands.

Many went farther and called on Trump to quit the race altogether.

Trump called his detractors "self-righteous hypocrites" Sunday on Twitter: "Watch their poll numbers - and elections - go down!"

Mr Trump said Mrs Clinton was "lying again" about the emails and he threatened to prosecute her if he wins the election on 8 November. The email obtained by The Associated Press doesn't specify the topic for the 11 a.m. EDT call, but rank-and-file lawmakers believe it's about Trump.

The political firestorm was sparked by a 2005 video obtained and released Friday by The Washington Post and NBC News. In the video, Trump, who was married to his current wife at the time, is heard describing attempts to have sex with a married woman. And when you're a star, they let you do it. In response to her attacks upon him not being suitable for office, Trump charges Clinton as unfit for office, and adds crook and liar to his definition of who she is. "You can do anything".

"I've said some foolish things", Trump said.

The real estate tycoon, however, reported just $38 million at the start of September, compared to the Republican National Committee with $40.5 million, Politico reported.

Even during the primary season, when presidential candidates typically prioritize retail politics and small gatherings that allow maximum hand-shaking and baby-holding, Trump mostly steered clear of intimate campaign settings. Such a move would leave Trump with virtually no political infrastructure in swing states to identify his supporters and ensure they vote.

Election law experts suggest it would be logistically impossible to replace Trump on the ballot altogether, with early voting underway in some states and overseas ballots already distributed to military servicemen and others.

The release of the recording and ensuing backlash nearly completely overshadowed the release of hacked emails from inside the Clinton campaign that revealed the contents of some of her previously secret paid speeches to Wall Street. That's at odds with her tougher stance on trade as a presidential candidate.