CBS News Poll: Clinton Opens Up 9-Point Lead Over Trump
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Hillary Clinton has opened up her lead against Donald Trump following several sexual assault allegations against the Republican nominee.
According to the latest CBS News poll, Clinton holds a nine-point lead over Trump among likely voters in a four-way matchup – 47 to 38 percent.
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The poll shows Clinton is leading Trump by 19 points among women and she has also closed the gap with men. Trump only holds a two-point lead over Clinton among men – 42 to 40 percent.
Earlier this month, Trump held an 11-point lead over Clinton among men.
The comments Trump made to "Access Hollywood" on a hot mic about women have hurt him as 40 percent of voters said they have a worse opinion of the Republican nominee as a result of his comments.
The poll also shows that 63 percent of registered voters believe Clinton will win the election, compared to just 26 percent for Trump.
The poll was conducted amid allegations by a number of women accusing Trump of inappropriate sexual advances, and the leaking of Clinton campaign official's emails.
On Monday, Melania Trump defended her husband when she was asked about his crude language about women on the "Access Hollywood" tape from 2005. She criticized her husband, but also blamed host Billy Bush, CBS2's Tony Aiello reports.
"I said to my husband that the language is inappropriate, it's not acceptable," Melania Trump said. "They were kind of boy talk, and he was led on, like egged on, from the host to say dirty and bad stuff."
NBC announced Monday it fired Bush from his position as host of the "Today" show.
Donald Trump has been relentless trying to sow doubts about the validity of the Nov. 8 vote.
"They even want to try to rig the election at the polling booths and believe me there's a lot going on," Trump said at a rally in Wisconsin. "
That language is upsetting many Republican officials who oversee the process.
"As a Republican, I want to reassure Donald Trump and all Ohio voters and voters across the country that system is not rigged," said Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted. "Our leaders need to build confidence in American democracy, not undermine it."
Clinton was off the campaign trail Monday as a new analysis shows she's done fewer events than the nominees from four and eight years ago. Clinton has done just 52 public events since Aug. 1, compared to Trump's 88 events.
There was also new material released by the FBI criticizing the Democratic nominee.
A diplomatic security agent who worked for her at the State Department said Clinton "frequently and blatantly disregarded security protocols."
When traveling she "often refused to ride in the armored limousine with the local U.S. ambassador," preferring to ride with longtime aide Huma Abedin.
It was a practice that "frequently resulted in complaints by ambassadors who were insulted and embarrassed by this breach of protocol."
The third and final presidential debate is Wednesday.
