(CNN) Donald Trump has reached his moment of reckoning -- and it is hard to imagine how his campaign will regain its footing with just 26 days to Election Day.

Presidential campaigns always fear the October surprise. In Trump's case it was a pattern of demeaning behavior toward women that took on new significance after a weekend bracketed by two explosive reports.

The first was T he Washington Post release of a 2005 hot mic conversation in which Trump was recorded boasting about his license to grope women as "a star." Over the weekend, CNN's Kfile revealed Trump's crude and demeaning conversations about women over a 17-year period with radio shock-jock Howard Stern.

CNN has not yet independently confirmed either The New York Times or People Magazine accounts. The Trump campaign described the entire Times article as a "fiction" that amounted to "character assassination." A Trump attorney also issued an open letter to The Times demanding an immediate retraction and apology. The Trump campaign told People magazine: "This never happened. There is no merit or veracity to this fabricated story."

Trump aggressively defended himself during a rally Thursday, saying they were "pure fiction," "outright lies" and promised to provide evidence to prove they were false.

"These claims are all fabricated. They're pure fiction and outright lies. These events never, ever happened," Trump said in West Palm Beach, Florida.

But at a time when voters are already casting their ballots and Trump's path to 270 electoral votes has dramatically narrowed, the campaign is engulfed in a swirl of allegations about Trump's conduct toward women that has crippled its ability to sway undecided voters.

Trump's assertion to CNN's Anderson Cooper in Sunday night's debate that his boasts on the "Access Hollywood" tape about grabbing women were "just words" -- seemed to inflame controversy.

Several women said his denial of those kinds of actions infuriated them and prompted them to come forward. As the floodgates opened on the conduct of a powerful and litigious figure, several beauty pageant contestants said they felt emboldened to describe Trump's leering, lewd behavior when he owned the Miss USA pageant. Tasha Dixon, a 2001 contestant, told a Los Angeles TV station, Trump entered rooms where "some were topless ... some were naked" as he allegedly inspected and appraised as the owner of the pageant.

First lady Michelle Obama said the comments in the 2005 video had left her "shaken."

"I can't stop thinking about this," she said at a rally for Hillary Clinton in Manchester, New Hampshire. "It has shaken me to my core in a way I could not have predicted."

Photos: Donald Trump's rise President-elect Donald Trump has been in the spotlight for years. From developing real estate and producing and starring in TV shows, he became a celebrity long before winning the White House. Hide Caption 1 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump at age 4. He was born in 1946 to Fred and Mary Trump in New York City. His father was a real estate developer. Hide Caption 2 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump, left, in a family photo. He was the second-youngest of five children. Hide Caption 3 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump, center, stands at attention during his senior year at the New York Military Academy in 1964. Hide Caption 4 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump, center, wears a baseball uniform at the New York Military Academy in 1964. After he graduated from the boarding school, he went to college. He started at Fordham University before transferring and later graduating from the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania's business school. Hide Caption 5 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump stands with Alfred Eisenpreis, New York's economic development administrator, in 1976 while they look at a sketch of a new 1,400-room renovation project of the Commodore Hotel. After graduating college in 1968, Trump worked with his father on developments in Queens and Brooklyn before purchasing or building multiple properties in New York and Atlantic City, New Jersey. Those properties included Trump Tower in New York and Trump Plaza and multiple casinos in Atlantic City. Hide Caption 6 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump attends an event to mark the start of construction of the New York Convention Center in 1979. Hide Caption 7 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump wears a hard hat at the Trump Tower construction site in New York in 1980. Hide Caption 8 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump was married to Ivana Zelnicek Trump from 1977 to 1990, when they divorced. They had three children together: Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric. Hide Caption 9 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise The Trump family, circa 1986. Hide Caption 10 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump uses his personal helicopter to get around New York in 1987. Hide Caption 11 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump stands in the atrium of the Trump Tower. Hide Caption 12 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump attends the opening of his new Atlantic City casino, the Taj Mahal, in 1989. Hide Caption 13 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump signs his second book, "Trump: Surviving at the Top," in 1990. Trump has published at least 16 other books, including "The Art of the Deal" and "The America We Deserve." Hide Caption 14 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump and singer Michael Jackson pose for a photo before traveling to visit Ryan White, a young child with AIDS, in 1990. Hide Caption 15 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump dips his second wife, Marla Maples, after the couple married in a private ceremony in New York in December 1993. The couple divorced in 1999 and had one daughter together, Tiffany. Hide Caption 16 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump putts a golf ball in his New York office in 1998. Hide Caption 17 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise An advertisement for the television show "The Apprentice" hangs at Trump Tower in 2004. The show launched in January of that year. In January 2008, the show returned as "Celebrity Apprentice." Hide Caption 18 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise A 12-inch talking Trump doll is on display at a toy store in New York in September 2004. Hide Caption 19 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump attends a news conference in 2005 that announced the establishment of Trump University. From 2005 until it closed in 2010, Trump University had about 10,000 people sign up for a program that promised success in real estate. Three separate lawsuits -- two class-action suits filed in California and one filed by New York's attorney general -- argued that the program was mired in fraud and deception. Trump's camp rejected the suits' claims as "baseless." And Trump has charged that the New York case against him is politically motivated. Hide Caption 20 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump attends the U.S. Open tennis tournament with his third wife, Melania Knauss-Trump, and their son, Barron, in 2006. Trump and Knauss married in 2005. Hide Caption 21 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump wrestles with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at WrestleMania in 2007. Trump has close ties with the WWE and its CEO, Vince McMahon. Hide Caption 22 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise For "The Apprentice," Trump was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 2007. Hide Caption 23 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump appears on the set of "The Celebrity Apprentice" with two of his children -- Donald Jr. and Ivanka -- in 2009. Hide Caption 24 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump poses with Miss Universe contestants in 2011. Trump had been executive producer of the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants since 1996. Hide Caption 25 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise In 2012, Trump announces his endorsement of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Hide Caption 26 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump speaks in Sarasota, Florida, after accepting the Statesman of the Year Award at the Sarasota GOP dinner in August 2012. It was shortly before the Republican National Convention in nearby Tampa. Hide Caption 27 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump appears on stage with singer Nick Jonas and television personality Giuliana Rancic during the 2013 Miss USA pageant. Hide Caption 28 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise In June 2015, during a speech from Trump Tower, Trump announced that he was running for President. He said he would give up "The Apprentice" to run. Hide Caption 29 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump -- flanked by U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, left, and Ted Cruz -- speaks during a CNN debate in Miami on March 10. Trump dominated the GOP primaries and emerged as the presumptive nominee in May. Hide Caption 30 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise The Trump family poses for a photo in New York in April. Hide Caption 31 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump speaks during a campaign event in Evansville, Indiana, on April 28. After Trump won the Indiana primary, his last two competitors dropped out of the GOP race. Hide Caption 32 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump delivers a speech at the Republican National Convention in July, accepting the party's nomination for President. "I have had a truly great life in business," he said. "But now, my sole and exclusive mission is to go to work for our country -- to go to work for you. It's time to deliver a victory for the American people." Hide Caption 33 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump faces Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the first presidential debate, which took place in Hempstead, New York, in September. Hide Caption 34 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump apologizes in a video, posted to his Twitter account in October, for vulgar and sexually aggressive remarks he made a decade ago regarding women. "I said it, I was wrong and I apologize," Trump said, referring to lewd comments he made during a previously unaired taping of "Access Hollywood." Multiple Republican leaders rescinded their endorsements of Trump after the footage was released. Hide Caption 35 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump walks on stage with his family after he was declared the election winner on November 9. "Ours was not a campaign, but rather, an incredible and great movement," he told his supporters in New York. Hide Caption 36 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump is joined by his family as he is sworn in as President on January 20. Hide Caption 37 of 37

Trump has retained his core support despite hits on his credibility. But this time the question is whether his loyal backers will believe that the wave of allegations are a calculated attempt by his enemies to destroy his campaign in the final weeks.

The problem he faces is that the conduct described by several women aligns exactly with the kind of behavior he bragged about in his own voice to "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush in 2005.

A trio of state polls released this week -- taken after the 2005 recording was published -- show Clinton's northern "blue wall" holding, as she carries commanding leads across a series of key states: She leads Trump by 9 points in Pennsylvania, 11 points in Michigan and 7 points in Wisconsin.

Additionally, a Republican National Committee source told CNN's Sara Murray Thursday that the Trump campaign decided to pull resources from the swing state of Virginia, essentially conceding the state to Clinton.

"We remain absolutely committed to winning in Virginia. While we're reallocating some of our staff strategically to accommodate early voting in nearby priority states such as North Carolina, our campaign leadership and staffing remains strong in Virginia," said John Ullyot, a Trump spokesman, in response to the reports the campaign was pulling out of Virginia.

Trump is now in the foxhole, lashing out at Republican lawmakers like House Speaker Paul Ryan, who refuse to defend him, questioning the credibility of his accusers, and excoriating what he views as a biased press corps that he believes is aiding Clinton.

"You're a disgusting human being," Trump reportedly told New York Times reporter Megan Twohey when she asked him about the allegations that he touched women inappropriately before publishing the story. "None of this ever took place," he told the newspaper.

The Trump campaign's strategy as each accusation surfaced has been to shift the conversation back to the allegations of sexual misconduct by Bill Clinton (who is not on the ballot), and his charge that Hillary Clinton served as an enabler who tried to damage the credibility of women he was involved with.

Speaking in Orefield, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, called the women's accounts "unsubstantiated allegations" and said the Trump campaign is "not going to allow the Clinton campaign and the national media to turn this campaign into a discussion of slander and lies."

But Trump's stunt of trotting out several of Bill Clinton's accusers at the debate made many Republicans cringe.

Throughout this campaign, Trump has laid out a clear, populist message and set of goals. Nearly any voter, on the other hand, will tell you they aren't sure what Clinton's core message is or what her agenda would be in the White House.

But in these final weeks, when Trump should be making his closing argument, the deluge of scandals surrounding his campaign have swallowed his message. As the polls make clear, Clinton has benefited -- that effect has elevated her flawed candidacy to something close to a sure bet.

"You know, if I were running against any Republican, I would be working hard and I would be asking for your help," Clinton said at a campaign event Thursday. "But this is an election between two very different visions, views, and sets of values. And that's why the stakes are so high, because we know, we've already learned who Donald Trump is, what we have to prove in this election is who we are, and what we stand for, and what we believe in."

Losing campaigns often try to pinpoint the definitive moment when they knew the race was over.

For John McCain, it was the day the markets collapsed and he insisted the fundamentals of the economy were strong. For Mitt Romney, it was the emergence of a taped fundraiser speech where he said 47% of American voters would never vote for him because they are dependent on government.

It will not be quite as simple to pinpoint one single moment for Trump if he loses on Election Day, because his polls numbers have been sliding ever since his defensive and unpolished performance in the first debate.

"For many voters still struggling with how to vote, all the bad news about Trump -- combined with the questionable things he has personally said over the last 16 months -- have finally created a tipping point that many thought would have come much earlier," said Republican strategist Mike DuHaime, who has advised New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former president George W. Bush.

DuHaime called the Trump campaign's decision to attack Bill Clinton as their response "ludicrous and amateurish," an illustration that "they only understand how to talk to the people already voting for Trump."

"With all of the places where Republicans could legitimately question Hillary Clinton's policy choices" such as her approach to Russia, Syria, tax policy and her US Senate votes, as well as "her overall judgment" in creating her own private email server and the questionable fundraising practices of Clinton Global Initiative, "our nominee has decided to attack her husband instead," he said.

"Maybe it feels good for them to vent 20 years of anti-Bill frustrations but it doesn't help Trump and likely helps Secretary Clinton," he said.