Trump bounces back but Republican Party still in tatters

Washington

AFTER nearly 18 months of vitriolic campaigning and two incendiary presidential debates, it is clear that the 2016 race for the White House is truly like no other.

The release of a 2005 video containing lewd and sexist comments made by Republican nominee Donald Trump has further roiled his party, which was already in tatters and without a path forward.

Now, many party stalwarts have abandoned their own candidate.

Here are the key lessons learned so far with four weeks to go before Americans go to the polls on Nov 8 for an election that will end with either Mr Trump, 70, or Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, 68, succeeding Barack Obama as US president.

Team Trump breathed a relative sigh of relief on Monday after the second debate between the White House hopefuls. On Saturday, one day after the bombshell release of the video showing Mr Trump making aggressively sexual remarks about groping and forcing himself on women, it looked like the real estate mogul was one…