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"Donald thinks belittling women makes him bigger," Clinton, the Democratic nominee, said during the presidential debate in Las Vegas on Wednesday night.

"He goes after their dignity, their self-worth, and I don't think there is a woman anywhere who doesn't know what that feels like."

Clinton hammered her Republican rival for using his recent rallies to comment on the appearances of some of his accusers. Trump said of one, "Believe me, she would not be my first choice, that I can tell you."

Trump flatly denied the charges, saying the women were seeking fame or money and claiming that the Clinton campaign had orchestrated the whole thing. He called on the debate moderator, Fox News host Chris Wallace, to move on to other subjects such as tackling the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.