It made Sunday night’s presidential debate difficult, even painful, to watch.

Trump apologized, but in the same breath seemed to be surprised by the outrage over what he called “locker room” talk.

To salvage his campaign, Trump tried to pivot. He attacked, glared and stalked around the stage. He tried desperately to turn the evening into an indictment of Bill and Hillary Clinton. He even claimed that if elected he will appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the Democrat nominee.

His body language was often startling. When Clinton spoke, Trump loomed behind her or glared at her.

Trump’s behavior over the course of the campaign has been questionable and often outrageous. His disregard of women is hardly a revelation. But the harshness of the conversation on the tape takes it to another level.

It’s difficult to imagine his short mea culpa Sunday night won him any new voters.

Given Clinton’s own record, it seems likely that any other leading Republican contender in the presidential primaries would be headed toward the White House at this point, but Trump self-destructive behavior has unhinged his campaign, perhaps permanently.

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