Dozens admonished Trump on Friday after his 2005 comments about women were made public

Mike Pence will wait for the outcome of Sunday's presidential debate to decide whether to stand by Donald Trump or turn on him like dozens of other GOP figures, it has been claimed.

The Republican vice presidential candidate denounced his running mate on Friday for comments he made in 2005 towards women.

Rebuking Trump's comments, Pence however stopped short of turning his back on the businessman and instead asked voters to 'pray for his family'.

On Sunday, as the presidential candidate geared up for his second debate against Hillary Clinton, it was claimed Pence, the Governor of Indiana, was weighing up his options.

Mike Pence will wait until after Sunday's debate to decide whether he will dump Donald Trump, it has been claimed

The Indy Star cited sources alleging he had was adopting a 'wait and see approach' ahead of the showdown.

It is not yet known whether he will be present at the debate. Pence pulled out of a public appearance on his running mate's behalf in Wisconsin after the tape's release.

Rumours the GOP is eager to put Pence at the top of the ticket have been rife since Trump's remarks were made public on Friday.

Senior figures have been putting pressure on the governor to drop out, it was earlier claimed, to create a scenario whereby Trump has no choice but to surrender.

'Pence is the anchor that keeps Trump in the race,' so without him it would be over for the candidate,' Vin Weber told CNN.

Many are eager to push Pence to the top of the ticket and bring in Ben Carson, one of Trump's most senior advisers, as his running mate.

Pence has been under pressure to drop out as Trump's running mate since the businessman was heard making lewd comments about women in a 2005 tape recording. They are seen above together last month

Kellyanne Conway shared a photograph purportedly showing the Republican candidate on the phone with his running mate en route to the debate on Sunday

'You'd keep Pence, and you'd bring the Trump people along with Carson, who they love.

'Right now, Donald isn't going to go and doesn't want to go. But we've been texting about it,' a source told The Washington Post.

Trump was hung out to dry by dozens of key endorsers and publicly shamed by others who described as 'sickening' his boasts that he could grab women 'by the p****' because he was a star.

Pence was among those to admonish the remarks, telling supporters unequivocally that he could not defend them.

'I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them. I am grateful that he has expressed remorse and apologized to the American people. '

Pence (above on Thursday) pulled out of an appearance on his running mate's behalf in Wisconsin on Friday after the tape was released

It is not yet clear whether Pence will attend the debate in St Louis, Missouri, on Sunday night

'As a husband and father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump in the eleven-year-old video released yesterday.

'We pray for his family and look forward to the opportunity he has to show what is in his heart when he goes before the nation tomorrow night,' he said in a statement.

On Sunday, the Trump campaign worked to dismiss speculation he and Pence were at odds over the scandal.

Kellyanne Conway, the pair's campaign manager, shared a photograph from on board his jet which purported to show him on the phone with the Indiana governor.

'Donald Trump on phone with Mike Pence on plane en route to St Louis debate' she wrote.