Most GOP voters back Donald Trump despite lewd remarks about women: Poll

Donald Trump greets supporters outside of Trump Towers in Manhattan in New York City, October 8, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

A majority of Republican voters in the US continue to express support for GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, despite growing pressure on him to drop out of the presidential race over his lewd remarks about women, according to a new poll.

According to the Politico/Morning Consult poll released Sunday, 74 percent of respondents said the leaders of the Republican party should not withdraw their support for the celebrity businessman.

Major Republicans like Senator John McCain, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have blasted Trump following the release of a 2005 videotape, which shows the candidate making lewd remarks about women.

Ryan said Friday that he had cancelled a "unity appearance" with Trump in Wisconsin, which was scheduled for Saturday.

The embarrassing video was recorded in 2005 while Trump was on a bus with former "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush.

Despite issuing an apology on Saturday, the comments pushed the Trump campaign into a crisis just a day before a pivotal second presidential debate between Trump and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

This is while, according to the Politico/Morning Consult survey, only 12 percent of Republican voters thought Trump should end his campaign.

Among female Republican voters, only 13 percent said Trump should leave the race for the White House.

On the Democratic side, the story was different, as some 70 percent of voters said Trump should not continue the race. The video elicited a negative reaction from 74 percent of Democrats.

In terms of national support among voters, the poll put Clinton 4 points ahead of Trump, 42 percent to 38 percent.

At a distant third was Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson with 8 percent, trailed by Green Party candidate Jill Stein with 3 percent.

Clinton also led Trump 45 percent to 41 percent in a head-to-head matchup. Trump’s support only dropped one percent compared to the poll’s previous version, conducted before his remarks were released.