Trump vows to remain in race after calls for him to withdraw

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump vowed on Saturday to remain in the race after prominent members of his party withdrew their support and called for him to drop out following news of a recording of him making derogatory comments about women.
Trump sought to do damage control early on Saturday morning in a hastily recorded apology, declaring himself a changed man and attempting to shift the focus to his opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Trump told the Wall Street Journal on Saturday morning "zero chance I'll quit."
Three Republican members of the Senate publicly announced they will not vote for Trump and former rival Carly Fiorina called on him to withdraw.
There is no precedent for a major party to replace their nominee this late in the campaign and it remains unclear if there is an avenue to force him from the race.
Voting has already begun in several states, including the important swing states of Virginia and North Carolina.
Democrats have sought to highlight past Trump behavior toward women in an effort to erode his support with less than a month to go until the November 8 election.
"Anyone who knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am.I said it, I was wrong, and I apologise," Trump said in his video statement, posted on his Facebook page.
The video overshadowed the publication of excerpts of Clinton's closed-door paid speeches that were made public on Friday by a hacker who claimed to have obtained them from the email account of John Podesta, the chairman of the Democrat's campaign.
In the speeches, Clinton advocates for more open borders and trade, a position she abandoned during the primary because it was politically untenable to Democratic progressives.
Likewise, Trump has repeatedly criticized her for past support of free trade.
The video landed just ahead of the second presidential debate on Sunday night, which had been seen as critical for Trump to try to rebound from a dip in some opinion polls after a rocky performance in the first debate.