Donald Trump provoked a burst of laughter from those watching the second presidential debate after he referred to himself as a “gentleman”, days after a leaked recording surfaced of the Republican candidate making obscene sexual comments about women.

As Sunday night’s debate between Mr Trump and Hillary Clinton became increasingly frantic with continued interruptions - particularly from Mr Trump - both candidates began to tussle over whose turn it was to answer questions from the moderator first.

After one such incident, Ms Clinton said “Go ahead, Donald”, to which Mr Trump replied, “”No, I’m a gentleman Hilary, go ahead,” prompting loud laughter from the audience at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri.

What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? Show all 8 1 /8 What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On the leaked tape from 2005 where he talks about sexually assaulting women “I'm very embarrassed by it, I hate it, but it's locker room talk. It's one of those things. I will knock the hell out of Isis” Getty What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On Hillary Clinton “I hate to say it but if I win I'm going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation. There has never been so many lies, so much deception. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.” Rex What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On Bill Clinton “What he's done to women, there's never been anybody in the history of politics in this nation that's been so abusive to women.” AP What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On whether his alleged opposition to Iraq War had been disproven "It’s not debunked. It’s not debunked." Getty What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On exploiting tax loopholes "I absolutely used it, and so did Warren Buffett, and so did George Soros and so did many people who Hillary is getting money from." Getty What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On claims he's sexist “I have great respect for women. Nobody has more respect for women than I do.” Reuters What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On what he respects about Hillary Clinton “I will say this about Hillary - she doesn't quit, she doesn't give up. I tell it like it is. She's a fighter.” Reuters What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On his controversial immigration policies "It’s called extreme vetting. We’re going to areas like Syria, where they are coming in by the tens of thousands because of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton wanting to allow a 550 per cent increase [of refugees] over Obama. People are coming into this country. We have no idea who they are, where they are from and what their feelings are about this country." Getty

Mr Trump’s remark follows the surfacing of a tape on Friday, in which he brags about attempting to seduce a married woman before boasting about feeling permitted to grope women because of his celebrity in conversation with Access Hollywood host Billy Bush in 2005.

“You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful – I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything […] Grab them by the p****. You can do anything,” Mr Trump is heard saying in the recording.

Mr Trump has issued an apology since its release and defended the comments as “locker room talk” several times during the debate.

Twitter said the debate was the most tweeted ever, with more than 17 million debate-related posts sent, and Mr Trump’s “gentleman” remark was one of the most mentioned moments.

Actor Luke Mitchell dubbed the comment: "The single most ridiculous thing that has been said during this circus."

During the debate, Ms Clinton dubbed the recording as “this is who Donald Trump is”, adding: “We've seen him insult women, we've seen him rate women on their appearance, ranking them from one to 10, we've seen him embarrass women on TV and on Twitter.”

In retaliation, Mr Trump criticised Ms Clinton's husband, former president Bill Clinton, accusing him of abusing women. In a press conference held before the debate, Mr Trump sat with alleged victims of Mr Clinton who accused him of rape and sexual harassment.