Trump loses top supporters

CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 18: Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump gives a thumbs up to the crowd after his wife Melania delivered a speech on the first day of the Republican National Convention on July 18, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. An estimated 50,000 people are expected in Cleveland, including hundreds of protesters and members of the media. The four-day Republican National Convention kicks off on July 18. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

More senior Republicans have withdrawn support for US presidential candidate Donald Tformer California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Senator John McCain, have distanced themselves from the candidate after his obscene remarks about women became public.

A tape from 2005 of him bragging about groping and kissing women was broadcast and has struck at the heart of the Repubican election campaign with at least a dozen Republicans saying they will not be voting for him, since the comments emerged on Friday.

They include former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Senator John McCain.

Trump’s running mate Mike Pence, who many Republicans have said should now be the party’s nominee, also put out a statement saying he could not condone or defend the remarks.