‘I will never drop out’ – Trump insists after lewd remarks revealed

US Donald Trump said he will carry on as Republican candidate for the US presidency, despite calls from more than two dozen prominent Republicans for him to drop out following the release of a recording of him making lewd comments about women in 2005.

"The media and establishment want me out of the race so badly - I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE, WILL NEVER LET MY SUPPORTERS DOWN!" Trump wrote on Saturday afternoon on the social media website Twitter.

The video was the latest calamity for Trump, who had hoped to revive his flagging campaign in the face of a recent drop in polls with less than a month until Election Day.

In the recording that triggered the firestorm, Trump said of one woman, "I did try and fuck her. She was married." He went on to discuss his attraction to others.

"I just start kissing them," he said. "And when you’re a star they let you do it."

On Saturday afternoon, CNN published a separate report detailing remarks Trump made over the course of several years while appearing on Howard Stern's radio program.

Trump is due to appear alongside Democrat Hillary Clinton on Sunday in their second debate in the run-up to the general election. Clinton is not expected to address Trump's video before then.

The 2005 video of Trump talking on an open microphone showed the then-reality TV star speaking about groping women and trying to seduce a married woman. The video was taped only months after Trump married his third wife, Melania.

In a statement, Melania Trump called her husband's words “unacceptable and offensive to me.”

“This does not represent the man that I know,” she said. “He has the heart and mind of a leader. I hope people will accept his apology, as I have, and focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world.”

The backlash over the video was swift and widespread.

More than 60 prominent Republican current and former officeholders issued statements condemning Trump's remarks about women, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and John McCain, the party's standard bearer in 2008. More than 20 called for Trump to end his presidential bid.

In an unusual move, his vice presidential running mate Mike Pence issued a critical statement of Trump's words, saying on Twitter that he “cannot defend them.”

“As a husband and father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump,” said Pence, who is governor of Indiana.

Pence indicated he would continue to support Trump, despite calls from several Republicans for Trump to step aside and let Pence be the nominee.

Trump has resisted calls to step aside, and in comments to the Washington Post said: “I’d never withdraw. I’ve never withdrawn in my life … No, I’m not quitting this race. I have tremendous support.”

“People are calling and saying: ‘Don’t even think about doing anything else but running’,” Mr Trump said when asked about Republican defection. “You have to see what’s going on. The real story is that people have no idea the support. I don’t know how that’s going to boil down but people have no idea the support.”

He claimed that running against Hillary Clinton gives him enough default support from the Republican Party, all but suggesting he still has a strong footing in the race. 

There is no precedent for a major party to replace its nominee this late in the campaign and it was unclear if there was an avenue to force him out. Voting has begun in several states, including swing states Virginia and North Carolina.