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U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump apologized Sunday night during his second presidential debate for his lewd remarks about women, but reiterated that was "locker room banter."
To the astonishment of the audience, Trump and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton entered the town-hall format debate without even a handshake.
"You hear these things I've said and I was embarrassed by it," Trump said while addressing the opening questions of the debate, which were adjusted to focus on the recent disclosure of a video clip taped in 2005 in which Trump bragged in obscene language about sexually forcing himself on women.
However, he denied ever kissing women against their will or groping women without consent in the high-temperatured and high-stake debate.
In an unprecedented remark, the Republican nominee said if elected president, he would re-open an email probe into Clinton's use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state.
"There were 33,000 emails that you deleted and that you acid-washed," he said. "If I win, I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation."
The newly surfaced episode about Trump's vulgar comments has thrown the New York billionaire's presidential campaign, and even the Republican Party, into turmoil over the weekend.
More than two dozen Republican lawmakers have distanced themselves from their party's nominee, some withdrawing endorsements or called on him to drop out of the race for the White House.
Some spoke of vice presidential candidate Mike Pence as an alternative. Pence, whose calm and collected performance in last week's vice presidential debate scored points for the party's ticket, also delivered an unheard-up reproach by a running mate, saying in a statement that "he was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump."
He called the second debate as a crucial moment to turn around the campaign. Although the Republican party's top leadership, including House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and party chairman Reince Priebus, stopped short of reversing their support, they decried his vulgar comments.
Trump acted as his own fireman, offering an apology for what he called "locker room banter" conversation in a brief statement while attacking former President Bill Clinton for even worse remarks on women. However, Trump vowed not to quit under any circumstances. XINHUA
