Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton jumped to a double-digit lead on Monday over Donald Trump in the first poll carried out since the release of a recording in which the Republican bragged about groping women.
Clinton enjoys 46 percent support among likely voters against 35 percent for Trump in a four-way race that includes Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein, according to the NBC News-Wall Street Journal survey.
In a two-way race, Clinton’s lead over the real estate mogul expands to 14 points, 52 percent to 38 percent, according to the poll, which has a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.
The poll was carried out after Friday’s release of the shocking audio recording of Trump speaking in 2005, but before Sunday night’s second presidential debate between him and Clinton.
A total of 52 percent of those polled said the recording should be a campaign issue, and 42 percent say it should not be.
Donald Trump’s presidential ambitions were teetering on the precipice after his support was sharply reduced in new polls and America’s most senior elected Republican official all but conceded Hillary Clinton would win the race.
Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, said he would no longer “defend” Mr Trump nor campaign with him, a move which threatened to cause a civil war within a party already facing its worst crisis since the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.
