E Minus 30: Tonight’s town hall might have been Donald Trump’s last chance to establish presidential demeanor, but his feet have been swept from beneath him by the release of recordings featuring him crudely bragging about his sexual prowess and predatory behavior.

Yesterday the Washington Post released a new batch of recordings from the Howard Stern radio show in which Trump said he had “no problem” having sex with 24-year-olds, that he “couldn’t care less” if he satisfies the women he sleeps with, that he’s had three-way sex, and that once a woman reaches age 35, “it’s checkout time.” He even called his own daughter Ivanka, who was 24 at the time, “a piece of ass.”

After insulting Mexicans, Muslims, a beauty queen and the family of a dead soldier, Trump finally has insulted what Republicans claim to hold sacred; the ideal of womanhood.

At least 35 congressional Republicans have denounced him, including New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who’s in a tight race. Sen. John McCain said in a statement that the disclosure of Trump’s “demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy.”

House Speaker Paul Ryan disinvited Trump from a joint appearance in Wisconsin yesterday. Running mate Mike Pence, a devout Christian, refused to appear in Trump’s place and issued a statement saying, “I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them.”

Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee called for Trump to step down. Texas Sen Ted Cruz tweeted, “These comments are disturbing and inappropriate, there is simply no excuse for them.” Illinois Republican Sen. Mark Kirk tweeted, “DJT is a malignant clown.”

His own wife Melania described his words as offensive.

The first recording released is of Trump talking to Billy Bush, who at the time was a host of Access Hollywood. He speaks in the most vulgar terms. Trump issued a video apology, but turned it into an attack against Hillary Clinton and her husband. “I’ve said some foolish things, but there’s a big difference between the words and actions of other people. Bill Clinton has actually abused women, and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims.”

In a telephone interview with the NY Times, Trump said no one had personally asked him to quit his campaign and, “I am in this until the end.”

Town Hall: Tonight’s format, if we can focus on that for a moment, favors Clinton. She’s had a lot of experience answering direct questions from the public. Trump held a town hall Thursday night in which the participants were screened to include only supporters with softball questions.

Speech, Speech! Hillary Clinton is lucky Donald Trump hit a mine at the same time WikiLeaks posted what are represented as excerpts of the Wall Street speeches she’s refused to release.

She told a Goldman Sachs gathering that the people who know best how to reform the financial industry are the people who run it.

At a speech to a Brazilian bank in 2013, she spoke of free trade and a “common” market. “My dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders, some time in the future with energy that is as green and sustainable as we can get it, powering growth and opportunity for every person in the hemisphere.”

Trade deals and free trade are one of Trump’s strongest issues.

Nation: The US death toll from Hurricane Matthew is now 15 people and the storm is tracking out to sea. — Two Palm Springs, Calif. Police officers were killed and a third wounded in a shootout yesterday. The police chief said, “I am awake in a nightmare right now.”

Permawar: As many as 140 people are dead after an airstrike a Yemen funeral hall. Saudi Arabia denies responsibility.

Tic Tacs: In the Access Hollywood recording, Trump is about to meet a soap opera actress and tells Bush, “I gotta use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her.”

On Friday night, CNN anchor Erin Burnett told a story about a friend who had a similar experience. “The Tic Tacs,” Burnett said, quoting her friend. “That’s exactly what Trump did to me. Trump took Tic Tacs, suggested that I take them also. He then leaned in … catching me off guard and kissed me almost on the lips. I was really freaked out.”

There’s been an outpouring of sympathy on the internet … not for Erin Burnett’s friend, but for the makers of Tic Tacs.

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