The innuendo seems fanciful, but the fact it is even being uttered underlines the grim situation.

"We are at a crisis point," Texas Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak tweeted on Wednesday.

"The wheels are off. Blowout election loss now likely. Trump's numbers are worsening across the board."

Critical juncture

A key group of senior Trump backers, including Republican National Committee head Reince Priebus, Rudy Giuliani and Newt Gingrich, are plotting an intervention to try to convince Trump to pull himself together, according to MSNBC's Chuck Todd.

David Rowe

Gingrich, who nearly became Trump's vice presidential nominee, used an American football analogy to illustrate how Trump has been "self-destructive" and has failed to transition to potential president.

"He has thrown a series of interceptions in the last week that really do not bode well for his campaign."


On Wednesday, even Trump's highly experienced campaign manager, Paul Manafort, sounded powerless to stop the costly indulgences.

"The candidate is in control of his campaign," Manafort said.

Clinton v Trump opinion polls Real Clear Politics

"And I'm in control of the things he wants me to do."

Manfort ally and former Republican congressman Vin Weber announced he would not vote for Trump, saying: "I don't believe Paul Manafort will go down with this ship":

Earlier, Republican congressman Richard Hanna remarkably declared he will vote for Clinton on November 8.

The list of Trump gaffes and Republicans jumping ship suggest the Trump experiment is at a critical juncture. On Tuesday, President Barack Obama said he was "unfit to serve as president" as he urged Republican leaders to withdraw their backing for his candidacy.

The mogul's recurring attacks on the family of a deceased Muslim American soldier have been deplored by the left, army veterans and political conservatives including Vietnam War hero and party Republican elder John McCain.


Self-inflicted wounds not yet fatal

Trump's suggestion on Tuesday that a woman should quit her job if she is sexually harassed went down like a lead balloon.

Trump committed the ultimate sin by refusing to endorse the re-election of the two most powerful elected Republicans, House speaker Paul Ryan and Senate leader Mitch McConnell.

Trump's vice presidential nominee, Mike Pence, contradicted Trump, endorsing Ryan as a "strong conservative leader".

The tragedy for Republicans is Trump keeps making the election about himself, rather than turning the spotlight on an unloved Clinton.

The blow torch should be firing on Clinton's misleading claim on Sunday that FBI Director James Comey said "my answers were truthful" about her State Department email scandal.

The Washington Post's Fact Checker column concluded Clinton's statement about Comey's remarks was inaccurate. She copped a 'Four Pinocchios" denunciation.

Yet six of seven opinion polls have Clinton racing ahead of Trump after last week's Democratic convention. She leads by an average of 46.5 to 42 per cent, according to Real Clear Politics.

Trump's self-inflicted wounds are not quite fatal, but he is rapidly approaching the point of no return.